For nearly a year, the Zionist regime and the United States have been implementing a scheme to indict some members of Hezbollah through the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
However, many believe that the new decision and its timing, given the current situation in Lebanon, is a completely politicized move. What matters most is the fact that the indictment was issued exactly at the time when the new government in Lebanon was going to be established. This synchronization was meant to place a serious obstacle in the way of efforts to form a new government, but the plan did not succeed.
Despite all these efforts, many believe that the plot to connect four members of Hezbollah with the issue of the Hariri assassination will have no implications for Lebanon’s current political equations. This is because the U.S. and the Zionist regime are trying to use the tribunal as a tool to engage Hezbollah in a political game.
However, they have forgotten that Lebanon has successfully managed to overcome various complex obstacles in recent years. In the years since the Hariri assassination, the West has constantly made accusations against Hezbollah, but none of them were ever proven. This time, in a last-ditch effort, they are using the STL as a tool against Hezbollah.
After surmounting various political obstacles over the past year, Lebanon will not be defeated by this new scheme. The Lebanese people do not want any more problems over these issues and if they maintain their vigilance, the plot cannot be realized.
In the current situation, the main demand of the Lebanese people is a coherent, coordinated and all-inclusive government, and many observers acknowledge that Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s new cabinet possesses all these attributes. The cabinet won a vote of confidence in parliament on Thursday, proving that it is in fact a product of the national will.
After this, the media propaganda accusing Hezbollah members will continue, but that will not affect the government’s comprehensive programs to rebuild the country after nearly six years of political stalemate.
Another point is that Hezbollah can easily respond to the charges made against the Islamic group. Based on numerous documents released by Hezbollah, all current members of the STL are somehow linked with Western spy networks, especially those close to Britain, Germany, the U.S., and Israel. The handling of the tribunal’s decisions by Israeli and U.S. officials is a clear sign of the close cooperation between the tribunal and Western circles.
After the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, Syria was quickly accused as the main suspect and a large number of Lebanese military and security officials were arrested but were later released. However, in light of the current situation in Lebanon, it is clear that such intrigues cannot be repeated, and almost all the factions and classes of the society acknowledge that the tribunal is politicized.
Moreover, so far no one has responded to the public demand to investigate the role of Israel in the tribunal. Perhaps it would have been better to at least mention Israel as one of the suspects in the recent indictment. But this is never going to happen at a tribunal that is directly ruled by the Israelis themselves. All this shows that the tribunal is completely politicized.
Experience shows that if Israel is on one side of a story in Lebanon, the Lebanese people increase their vigilance to avoid being deceived by intrigues.
Mosayeb al-Naimi is the editor in chief of the Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Wafaq.
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