Friday’s assault on an Israeli military convoy by the Shiite Lebanese Hizbollah group, which left one Israeli soldier dead and drew an Israeli helicopter missile attack in response, brought to the boil a simmering relationship between Lebanon’s prime minister, Rafik Hariri, and the Hizbollah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.
Albawaba has learned from Lebanese sources that Hariri was caught completely off guard by the Hizbollah attack, and was especially embarrassed because of statements that he had made a day earlier in Paris to French business executives that Lebanon will neither provoke an Israeli attack, nor succumb to provocation. And on Saturday, the prime minister found himself unable to respond adequately to charges by David Satterfield, the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, who said that continued instability in the south of the country is keeping away badly needed foreign investors.
Despite his anger, the sources say, Hariri chose to express his disquiet to Hizbollah out of the public eye. He did this in closed meetings with parliamentary representatives of the Islamic group, and through other figures known to have influence over Hizbollah.
But on Monday, Hariri was said to have felt betrayed, after Nasrallah openly accused the government of adopting the U.S. position against attacks on Israel. From Hariri’s perspective, such a comment represented an abrogation of the agreement that he had with Nasrallah, according to which disagreements between them would be dealt with in private. As a result, the sources said, Hariri decided that he no longer would refrain from stating his opinion publicly.
The sources say that Hariri office composed a harsh statement, which was sent immediately to the local mass media. But its pending release was made known to Hizbollah, which dispatched an official to meet with and placate the prime minister.
Representatives of the government and of Hizbollah said after the meeting that a new spirit of cooperation had been achieved. However, the sources told Albawaba that the tone of the meeting was acrimonious, and many of the points of disagreement still need to be resolved. – (Albawaba.com)
