May 25, 2009 - Naharnet - Bellemare Emphasizes Secrecy, Israel Urges Arrest of Nasrallah after Der Spiegel Report

Head of the investigative commission Canadian prosecutor Daniel Bellemare would not comment on a report by the German weekly Der Spiegel which said Hizbullah was behind the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. A statement issued by Bellemare's office in Lebanon said the prosecutor "had been and will continue to attach great importance to the support of the integrity of the investigation, particularly secrecy" of the probe. It reiterated that the office's work was "evidence-driven, objective, neutral and impartial and leaves no room for a prejudged outcome."In Israel, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for an international arrest warrant against Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah after Der Spiegel's report linked his group to Hariri's murder."The report in Der Spiegel on Nasrallah's direct involvement in the assassination of Hariri should raise concern in the entire international community," Lieberman told reporters in Jerusalem. "He should have an international arrest warrant issued against him, and if not, he should be arrested by force," he said. Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh rejected the report as "totally false." U.N. officials have not questioned any Hizbullah members as part of their investigation, Salloukh said from Damascus, where he was participating in a foreign ministers meeting. Hizbullah MP Nawar Saheli also dismissed the report as "a big lie." "We are waiting for the international tribunal to react and to see where the German magazine got its information from," Saheli said. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the report "was nothing but a new attempt to sow sedition among the Lebanese." "This is a media fabrication that only lacked the stamp: 'Made in Israel'," Berri said. Meanwhile, Druze leader Walid Jumblat urged Lebanese "not to fall into the trap of the vast discord," and considered that "Israeli fingerprints" were behind the German weekly report.