Hizbullah Denies Link to Harb Assassination Bid as MP Urges Party to Lift Cover Off Suspect
Hizbullah denied on Tuesday that it had anything to do with accusations that it was responsible for the assassination attempt against MP Butros Harb.
“The party, its officials and members had nothing to do with the so-called assassination attempt against MP Harb,” said a statement issued by Hizbullah's media relations department.
The statement lashed out at the MP and some March 14 members for accusing the party without basing it on any proof.
Hizbullah called on officials to halt the “obnoxious political maneuvers and the false allegations that we have grown used to during the past few years.”
Harb later slammed the party statement, saying that it is unfortunate that Hizbullah would use such a tone when dealing with such a dangerous development as an assassination attempt.
His press office said in a statement: “It is unusual that the party would include such false claims and an insistence that Harb had made his accusation without proof.”
It stressed that the MP had strictly demanded that the party cooperate with the Lebanese judiciary and allow Hizbullah member M.H. to testify before the investigation.
He demanded that cover be lifted off the suspect and that he be allowed to testify in order to remove all suspicions against him “otherwise we would have to accuse Hizbullah of obstructing the investigation and protecting the criminals”
The statement added: “Harb does not make it a habit to make false claims and he does not consider the attempt against his life as a joke.”
“It is not being employed for political purposes as the party claimed, but it is a development aimed at creating strife in Lebanon and obstructing efforts to restore the authority of the state,” it stressed.
Harb had said on Saturday that Mahmoud Hayek, the suspect in the attempt on his life, refused to appear before the investigative bodies because he is a member of Hizbullah’s security apparatus.
The MP escaped an assassination attempt early July, when three people tried to plant a booby trap inside the elevator of the building where his office is located in Sami Solh.
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