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HARIRI BLAMES ISRAEL FOR BEIRUT SUBURB BOMBING
July 09, 2013 01:58 PM (Last updated: July 09, 2013 07:05 PM) The
Daily Star
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri speaks during a ceremony in Beirut,
Thursday, March 31, 2011. (The Daily Star/Mohammad Azakir)
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri blamed Israel Tuesday for the
"terrorist explosion" that rocked Beirut's southern suburbs and accused
the country of trying to provoke Sunni-Shiite strife in Lebanon.
"[The blast] requires the highest level of awareness and vigilance in
the face of dangers that surround the country and the entire region,
especially while facing attempts by the Israeli enemy to push [Lebanon]
to strife by organizing terrorist attacks, as happened today," Hariri
said in a statement.
"After of terrible criminal scene that Beirut's southern suburbs
witnessed, the Lebanese can only express indignation and condemnation
of the crime that targeted one of the most populated neighborhoods,"
the statement said.
A car bomb explosion ripped through the Beirut's southern suburb
neighborhood of Bir al-Abed, a pro-Hezbollah area, wounded dozens
of people.
"As I strongly condemn the terrorist bombing that harmed innocent
civilians, I ask God Almighty to bless the wounded with safety and
health," Hariri said.
Hariri said that the blast should shock Lebanese "to go back to the
national consensus on keeping Lebanon away from external conflicts and
to avoid slipping into wars that will only inflict further divisions
in the country, place national stability at risk and expose Lebanon
to the conspiracies of the Israeli enemy."
The former PM, who heads the Future Movement, urged an investigation
into the blast and called on political leaders to shoulder
responsibility in addressing the country's deteriorating security
situation.
For his part, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora condemned the blast
and warned citizens to "be careful about who is plotting conspiracies
and strife in this dangerous stage Lebanon and the region are going
through."
Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani also condemned the explosion and
said it aimed at "destabilizing Lebanon's security and the country's
civil peace."
Separately, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea condemned the attack
and urged the judicial and security authorities to address the matter
with "complete seriousness" in order to reveal the perpetrators and
punish them as soon as possible.
"The security of the nation and its people comes only through a
strong and powerful state that alone handles the security and military
mission," Geagea said in a statement.
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said he considered
the attack as an assault on the entire nation and said that the sharp
political divisions between the Lebanese people should come to an end.
"The blast confirms once again that it is not acceptable to carry on
the sharp political divisions among the Lebanese," he said.
"[Such divisions] expose the country to further security incidents
and dangers at all levels," he added.
The Future bloc also condemned the bombing and warned against the
Israeli defense minister's statement that attributed the attack to
a Sunni-Shiite conflict.
"The bloc sees that the evil, criminal hand that carried out the crime
seeks to shake up the security and provoke citizens against each other
and incite the fire of strife in the country," the parliamentary bloc
said in a statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon described the bombing in the
Lebanese capital as a struggle between Sunnis and Shiites.
"There are many explosions in the area. Our borders are calm and
that's not a given," Ya'alon said according to Israel's Ynetnews.
"We see war seeping from Syria to Lebanon, and we follow what happens
in Tripoli and Beirut," he said. "We watch but we don't interfere,"
he said.
Read more:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/Jul-09/223073-hariri-blames-israel-for-beirut-suburb-bombing.ashx#ixzz2YZmPQuHp
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
July 09, 2013 01:58 PM (Last updated: July 09, 2013 07:05 PM) The
Daily Star
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri speaks during a ceremony in Beirut,
Thursday, March 31, 2011. (The Daily Star/Mohammad Azakir)
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri blamed Israel Tuesday for the
"terrorist explosion" that rocked Beirut's southern suburbs and accused
the country of trying to provoke Sunni-Shiite strife in Lebanon.
"[The blast] requires the highest level of awareness and vigilance in
the face of dangers that surround the country and the entire region,
especially while facing attempts by the Israeli enemy to push [Lebanon]
to strife by organizing terrorist attacks, as happened today," Hariri
said in a statement.
"After of terrible criminal scene that Beirut's southern suburbs
witnessed, the Lebanese can only express indignation and condemnation
of the crime that targeted one of the most populated neighborhoods,"
the statement said.
A car bomb explosion ripped through the Beirut's southern suburb
neighborhood of Bir al-Abed, a pro-Hezbollah area, wounded dozens
of people.
"As I strongly condemn the terrorist bombing that harmed innocent
civilians, I ask God Almighty to bless the wounded with safety and
health," Hariri said.
Hariri said that the blast should shock Lebanese "to go back to the
national consensus on keeping Lebanon away from external conflicts and
to avoid slipping into wars that will only inflict further divisions
in the country, place national stability at risk and expose Lebanon
to the conspiracies of the Israeli enemy."
The former PM, who heads the Future Movement, urged an investigation
into the blast and called on political leaders to shoulder
responsibility in addressing the country's deteriorating security
situation.
For his part, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora condemned the blast
and warned citizens to "be careful about who is plotting conspiracies
and strife in this dangerous stage Lebanon and the region are going
through."
Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani also condemned the explosion and
said it aimed at "destabilizing Lebanon's security and the country's
civil peace."
Separately, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea condemned the attack
and urged the judicial and security authorities to address the matter
with "complete seriousness" in order to reveal the perpetrators and
punish them as soon as possible.
"The security of the nation and its people comes only through a
strong and powerful state that alone handles the security and military
mission," Geagea said in a statement.
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said he considered
the attack as an assault on the entire nation and said that the sharp
political divisions between the Lebanese people should come to an end.
"The blast confirms once again that it is not acceptable to carry on
the sharp political divisions among the Lebanese," he said.
"[Such divisions] expose the country to further security incidents
and dangers at all levels," he added.
The Future bloc also condemned the bombing and warned against the
Israeli defense minister's statement that attributed the attack to
a Sunni-Shiite conflict.
"The bloc sees that the evil, criminal hand that carried out the crime
seeks to shake up the security and provoke citizens against each other
and incite the fire of strife in the country," the parliamentary bloc
said in a statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon described the bombing in the
Lebanese capital as a struggle between Sunnis and Shiites.
"There are many explosions in the area. Our borders are calm and
that's not a given," Ya'alon said according to Israel's Ynetnews.
"We see war seeping from Syria to Lebanon, and we follow what happens
in Tripoli and Beirut," he said. "We watch but we don't interfere,"
he said.
Read more:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/Jul-09/223073-hariri-blames-israel-for-beirut-suburb-bombing.ashx#ixzz2YZmPQuHp
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)