Netanyahu: Lebanese PM's resignation is a 'wake-up call' - News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

by News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff 

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri accuses Hezbollah of taking Lebanon hostage, alleges assassination plot against him, in dramatic resignation announcement

Newly resigned Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri
Photo: AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the surprise resignation of Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri was a "wake-up call" for the world on Iran's attempted takeover of the Middle East.

"He [Hariri] said basically it's because Hezbollah took over, which means Iran took over. And I think this is a wake-up call for everyone," Netanyahu told the BBC during a visit to the U.K.

"It says what the Middle East is really experiencing. It's experiencing the attempt of Iran to conquer the Middle East, to dominate it and subjugate it," Netanyahu said.

"And I think when Israelis and Arabs, and it's all the Arabs and the Israelis, agree on one thing, people should pay attention. We should stop this Iranian takeover."

Earlier, Netanyahu said Hariri's resignation and comments "are a wake-up call to the international community to take action against the Iranian aggression that is trying to turn Syria into a second Lebanon. This aggression endangers not only Israel but the entire Middle East. The international community needs to come together and stand against this aggression."

In a dramatic announcement, Hariri resigned on Saturday via a televised address from Saudi Arabia, accusing Hezbollah of taking the country hostage and alleging an assassination plot against him.

The surprise move plunged the nation into uncertainty amid heightened regional tensions.

In his resignation speech, Hariri fired a tirade against Iran and its Lebanese proxy, the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah, for what he said was their meddling in Arab affairs. He accused Iran of spreading chaos, strife and destruction throughout the region.

"Iran's arms in the region will be cut off. The evil that Iran spreads in the region will backfire on it," Hariri said.

Hariri was appointed prime minister in late 2016 and headed a 30-member coalition government that included Hezbollah members. But it has been an uneasy partnership between Hariri, who heads a Sunni-led camp loyal to Saudi Arabia, and Hezbollah, which represents a camp loyal to Shiite Iran. Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who was elected in October 2016 after more than a two-year presidential vacuum, is a close ally of Hezbollah.

As the U.S. and Saudi Arabia sought ways to curb Iran's growing influence in the region, Hariri has come under pressure to distance himself from Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of troops to neighboring Syria to shore up Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces.

In the wake of Hariri's resignation announcement, an official in the U.S. State Department said it was following the situation closely and noted that Hariri had been a "strong partner in building strong national state institutions and in the war on terror."

The official added that "the United States expects an orderly political process in Lebanon and will remain supportive of the legitimate institutions of the Lebanese state."

It was not immediately clear whether Hariri intends to return to Lebanon. In a statement, the presidential office said Hariri had informed Aoun of his resignation in a phone call, and that Aoun was awaiting Hariri's return to clarify the circumstances and proceed accordingly.

Hariri's bombshell resignation – even close aides seemed unaware that it was coming – ushers in a stage of deep uncertainty and potential instability, and also throws into doubt parliamentary elections slated for early next year, which have been repeatedly delayed.

It comes amid a sharp escalation in Saudi rhetoric against its regional arch-rival Iran and puts Lebanon at the center of that rivalry.

Hazem al-Amin, a Lebanese writer who follows regional affairs, said Hariri's resignation is "completely a Saudi step" that comes in the context of an international and regional atmosphere against Hezbollah and against Iranian influence in the region.

"Lebanon is a fragile country. This confrontation [between Saudi Arabia and Iran] is more violent than Lebanon can stand up to," he said, warning of economic and security ramifications.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said the resignation is a plot by the U.S., Israel and the Saudis to foment tensions in Lebanon and the region, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported.

Ghasemi dismissed Hariri's "baseless accusations," which he said indicate that "a new scenario" for the region is being drawn.

Hariri's resignation was unprecedented in the way it was announced, in a televised address from an undisclosed location in Riyadh. In his speech, Hariri suggested he feared for his life and said the climate in Lebanon is similar to the one that existed before his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was assassinated in 2005.

Several Hezbollah members are being tried in absentia for the killing by a U.N.-backed tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. Hezbollah denies any involvement.

Hariri said Hezbollah's policies have put Lebanon "in the eye of the storm." His attacks on Hezbollah come on the heels of new U.S. sanctions on the Shiite terrorist group that many fear will impact negatively on the Lebanese economy. Hariri has frequently called on the group to withdraw its fighters from Syria.

"I declare my resignation from the premiership of the Lebanese government, with the certainty that the will of the Lebanese is strong," Hariri said.

"When I took office, I promised you that I would seek to unite the Lebanese and end political division ... but unfortunately, this pushed Iran and its allies to more interference in our internal affairs," he said.

Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan said in a television interview that Hariri's personal security detail had "confirmed information" of a plot to kill him.

Lebanon’s internal security force, however, said in a statement on the reports that it had no information about the matter.

Earlier this week, al-Sabhan sharply criticized Hezbollah, calling for its "toppling" and promising "astonishing developments" in the coming days during an interview with the Lebanese television station MTV.

Al-Sabhan met with Hariri in Saudi Arabia when the now resigned prime minister was visiting earlier this week. Hariri abruptly returned to the kingdom again on Friday after a meeting in Beirut with Ali-Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader.

In tweets after meeting Hariri, al-Sabhan criticized the Lebanese government for tolerating Hezbollah's criticism of the kingdom.

Maha Yahya, director of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East, said that with the Syrian war waning, Hariri's move could be a message from Saudi Arabia to Iran that it "can't have it all."

"So Lebanon is back on the table as a stage for the next tug of war," she said.

Iran said on Saturday that Hariri's resignation would create tension in Lebanon and the region.

"The resigning Lebanese prime minister’s repetition of the unrealistic and unfounded accusations of the Zionists [Israel], Saudis and Americans against Iran is an indication that this resignation is a new scenario for creating tension in Lebanon and the region," Ghasemi said in a statement published on the ministry website.

"But we believe that the resistant people of Lebanon will pass this stage easily. The sudden resignation of Mr. Hariri and his statement in another country is not only surprising and regrettable but is also an indication of his playing a game designed by those who want ill for the region, and the winner of this game is not Arabic or Muslim countries but the Zionists."

Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, adviser to Khamenei, said: "Hariri's resignation was done with planning by Donald Trump, the president of America, and Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia."

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will address Hariri's resignation in a televised speech on Sunday, Hezbollah-affiliated media reported.

A member of Hezbollah's central committee, Sheikh Nabil Kawouk, accused the Saudis of being behind Hariri's resignation, saying in a speech reported by Lebanon's al-Jadeed television: "God protect Lebanon from the evil of Saudi Arabia's reckless adventures."

Walid Jumblatt, the leader of Lebanon's Druze minority, said Lebanon was too weak to bear the consequences of Hariri's resignation, saying he feared political and economic fallout.

"We cannot afford to fight the Iranians from Lebanon," he told Reuters, advocating an approach of compromise with Hezbollah in Lebanon while waiting for regional circumstances to allow Saudi-Iranian dialogue.

Lebanese Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, meanwhile, told Reuters there was no danger to Lebanon's economy or its currency.

Joseph Torbey, head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, said there was no risk to monetary stability because the central bank had large reserves and there was confidence in Lebanese banks.

News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2017/11/05/lebanese-pm-slams-iran-hezbollah-during-dramatic-resignation/

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