Hezbollah member Mohammed Fneish, a minister of state in the government, said when asked whether the group supported sending a ministerial delegation to apologise to Saudi Arabia: “When Saudi apologises for its insults to us, we will think”.
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In a new sign of regional tension spilling over into Lebanon, Saudi Arabia on Thursday suspended a military aid package to the Lebanese security forces in what an official said was a response to Beirut’s failure to condemn attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.
Hariri’s direct appeal to King Salman reflects worries among Saudi Arabia’s allies in Lebanon that a major shift is under way in its policy towards the country.
Rifi said Hezbollah was to blame for the political paralysis, the Samaha case and the Saudi episode.
Quoting an unnamed official source, the Saudi Press Agency said the decision had come after Riyadh had conducted a “comprehensive review” of its relations with Lebanon.
“He (Bassil) dared to offend the kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the request of Hezbollah”, Rifi said in a statement announcing his resignation. Hezbollah pointed out that the Saudi decision confirms the real stance of the kingdom which sponsors and funds terrorism and stirs seditions throughout the entire Islamic and Arab world.
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who is the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, a key ally of Hezbollah, has recently declined to support Saudi resolutions against Iran during two meetings of Arab and Muslim foreign ministers. He had spent much of the past five years outside the country after his government was brought down by Hezbollah and its allies in early 2011.
Bassil, a political ally of Hezbollah, cited the statement’s criticism of Hezbollah as the reason for not backing it. He stressed the need for national unity in Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia “had long stood next to Lebanon at all hard stages and had supported it without distinguishing between its sects”, said a statement read by Culture Minister Adel al-Toraifi following the cabinet session. Samaha was convicted by a Lebanese military court on charges of plotting bombings at the behest of Syria.
Samaha was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison in May, having been detained since August 2012. He was banned from leaving the country pending a retrial.
The tense relations between the religious groups have been additionally strained by the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran and the Syrian civil war.
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“I will not accept becoming false witness and covering for those trying to dominate the state and its institutions… that is why I am presenting my resignation”.
