May 27, 2009 - Daily Star - Nasrallah: Israel behind Der Spiegel claims

Hizbullah leader says his remarks on May 7 clashes 'taken out of context'

Star staff

BEIRUT: Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah accused Israel on Monday of being behind a report implicating his party in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and called the claim "very, very dangerous." "The report in Der Spiegel is very, very, very dangerous," Nasrallah said in comments transmitted via video link to thousands of supporters massed in Hizbullah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs.
"I consider the report in Der Spiegel an Israeli accusation that Hizbullah killed the martyr Rafik Hariri and we will deal with this claim as such," he said.
"Israel has issued its verdict in the Hariri case," he said in a speech marking the ninth anniversary of the 2000 withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine reported on Saturday that the UN commission probing the Hariri murder had new evidence that Hizbullah special forces "planned and executed" the Beirut car bombing on February 14, 2005.
The attack killed the billionaire former premier and 22 other people.
"Through this report they [the Israelis] are saying that if the international community does not punish Hizbullah then Israel will punish it along with its leader," he added. Israel has reacted to the report by calling for an international arrest warrant for Nasrallah.
"The report in Der Spiegel on Nasrallah's direct involvement in the assassination of Hariri should raise concern in the entire international community," Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Sunday.
"He should have an international arrest warrant issued against him, and if not, he should be arrested by force," he added.
A spokeswoman for the prosecutor at The Hague-based tribunal said it was unclear where the German magazine had gotten its story.
"The office of the prosecutor doesn't comment on any issues related to operational aspects of the investigation," the spokeswoman said.
Der Spiegel's report comes ahead of a June 7 election pitting Lebanon's US- and Saudi-backed parliamentary majority against an alliance headed by Hizbullah, supported by Syria and Iran.
Nasrallah said the report was clearly aimed at sowing discord between the country's Sunnis - most of whom back the majority in Parliament headed by Hariri's son Saad - and the Shiites, most of whom back Hizbullah and its allies.
"The Israelis and the Americans wondered how to scuttle the election and influence its outcome. Der Spiegel was their answer," Nasrallah said.
"Spiegel ... and the Zionists are saying: 'Oh Sunnis, those who killed your leader are the Shiites and more specifically Hizbullah," he said. "As such, your vengeance and your war should be directed at them."
President Michel Sleiman on Monday described the Der Spiegel report as "suspicious," saying it harmed the Hariri tribunal's work.
Sleiman said he was confident the tribunal would not be used for political purposes.
The Hizbullah chief in his hour-long speech, which was met with celebratory gunfire in Beirut, also warned that his troops would be on alert when Israel launches one of its biggest military man oeuvres ever at the end of this month.
"No one will see us, no one will see our weapons, no one will know we're there," he said. "If you [the Israelis] are stupid enough to enter our land, we will destroy your troops and your army."
Hizbullah fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006 that killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers.
The Sayyed said that his earlier statements, in which he described the May 7, 2008 armed clashes as "a glorious day," were "taken out of context," adding, "May 7 was a painful and sad day, because civilians died and property was destroyed."
Nasrallah urged supporters to "vote massively" for opposition tickets all across Lebanon," he also praised his ally Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun, describing him as "an honest and patriotic man."
"This is not a temporary electoral alliance, but a national, responsible and strategic alliance," Nasrallah said of his party's alliance with Aoun.
"[Aoun] has a complete and clear vision. The embassies have no influence on this man, and no one can tell him what to do. This man is loyal to Lebanon as a unified nation with a unified people, and he is one of the most reliable leaders for the Christians," he added.
According to Nasrallah, political differences must be resolved between the March 14 alliance and Aoun "before we reach an understanding with them, or make any kind of contact."
Nasrallah said his party fights Israel "to protect all of Lebanon and all the Lebanese not only the Shiites."
"No one can take anything from us through threats or intimidation, but you can take all that you want by just being loyal. We are loyal to those who are loyal to us," he said. - The Daily Star, with AFP
Embassy: Germany has no information on magazine's report
BEIRUT: The German Embassy in Beirut said on Monday Germany has no information regarding a report by the weekly Der Spiegel suggesting Hizbullah was behind the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
An embassy statement said Germany supports "independence" of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Germany's Der Spiegel reported on Saturday that the UN commission probing the murder had new evidence that Hizbullah special forces "planned and executed" the Beirut car bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people.
Also on Monday, Syria dismissed as "lies" the German magazine's report. "I invite the prosecutor to use his prerogatives concerning these lies which undermine the international investigation," Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told a news conference.
Syria, a key backer of Hizbullah, has been widely blamed for Hariri's murder but Damascus has repeatedly denied any involvement.
Two months after the February 14, 2005, attack, Syria pulled its troops from Lebanon under international pressure ending nearly three decades of domination over its small neighbor.
Moallem described the report as "insignificant" and urged Der Spiegel to probe "who wrote the article and who is behind it." - The Daily Star, with AFP
Jumblatt thankful for Nasrallah's 'kind words'
CHOUF: Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat thanked Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday for his "kind words" during the latter's Monday night speech.
On Sunday, Jumblatt had described a report by German newspaper Der Spiegel, accusing Hizbullah of direct involvement in the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, of aiming to sow the seeds of strife in Lebanon, adding that it was "worse than the Ain al-Rummaneh bus incident."
The Ain al-Rummaneh bus incident is considered to have flared up Lebanon's 1975-90 Civil War.
"I salute the courage of Mr. Walid Jumblatt's latest remarks because his analysis of the situation is correct and I endorse it," Nasrallah said in his speech
Speaking to Al-Jazeera news television on Tuesday, Jumblatt underlined the "dimension" of Nasrallah's words.
Jumblatt said the Der Spiegel report was "similar to Israel's pretext of 1982 when it used the [Palestinian Liberation Organization's assassination attempt on its ambassador to London Shlomo Argov] as an excuse to launch its invasion Lebanon.
Der Spiegel on Saturday carried out a report suggesting Hizbullah plotted and executed the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. - Maher Zeineddine