BEIRUT: Hizbullah fired Monday its strongest warning yet that it will oppose indictments against party members in the United Nations-backed investigation into the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, as Lebanon prepared for the Eid holiday. “Hizbullah has prepared various options to confront fallout from the [Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)] indictment, and we are fully prepared to confront any possibility,” Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc MP Nawwaf Mousawi told Al-Manar TV, a satellite channel close to Hizbullah. “Whoever arms himself with a forged indictment is threatening Hizbullah, and whoever calls for dialogue must first leave the counterfeit and oppressive accusation,” he added. Mousawi traded blows with former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora over the weekend as the political crisis surrounding STL debate deepened. The Hizbullah lawmaker had accused Siniora, who heads current Prime Minister Saad Hariri's Future Movement – Hizbullah's political opponents – of prolonging Israel's assault on Lebanon during the 2006 summer war. Mousawi claimed French officials had told part members that Siniora deliberately hesitated before undertaking diplomatic action in a bid to undermine the resistance. Siniora hit back in a statement, accusing Mousawi of serving “Israel and its interests” with “fabricated, unfounded and shameful accusations.” Indictments from The Hague are expected to be issued later this month, although politicians in Beirut are no closer to dealing successfully with the potentially explosive issue of “false witnesses.” Former Major General Jamil al-Sayyed, who was one of four pro-Syrian officers to be detained without charge in the wake of Hariri's 2005 assassination, sparked furious debate by accusing Saad Hariri of fabricating information that led to his arrest. Opposition parties are insisting that Cabinet votes on whether or not to try “false witnesses” whereas the majority insists indictments must be issued from The Hague unmolested by claims of malpractice or politicization. Mousawi called for “the formation of an Arab investigative commission, to which all information will be given about the background of the Israel-American aggression in July 2006, and about the collusion that happened in the false witnesses plot.” Hizbullah has previously warned that it will “cut the hand” of those who target it; a clear reference to STL investigators whom many believe will implicate the party in Hariri's death. President Michel Sleiman, speaking ahead of a two-day civic holiday on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, said he hoped Muslims and Christians would “sacrifice personal interests” for Lebanese unity. The country faces an uneasy wait.
