Hizbullah leader sees collapse of government, Nasrallah accuses cabinet of collaborating with “Israel”

Source: The Guardian, 15-11-2006
The Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has warned that the Lebanese government will soon collapse, accusing the US-backed cabinet of collaborating with "Israel" during this summer`s conflict.
"This government will go and there will soon be a new, clean government," Mr. Nasrallah told residents of Beirut`s southern suburbs, who had gathered on Monday to discuss compensation for homes destroyed during the war.
The Shia leader`s unannounced appearance followed a day of deepening division in the country, with a sixth government minister from the cabinet offering his resignation. The environment minister, Yacoub Sarraf, a Christian, resigned saying he was unwilling to participate in a Lebanese government devoid of Shia representation.
"I don`t see myself belonging to any constitutional authority in which an entire sect is absent," Mr. Sarraf wrote in his letter of resignation.
Hizbullah and Lebanon`s other Shia group, Amal, pulled their ministers out of the cabinet on Saturday in protest at the government`s refusal to heed their demand for a "national unity" cabinet that would effectively give Hizbullah and its allies veto power over important decisions, such as legislation aimed at curbing its armed status and expanding the mandate of the UNIFIL's forces. The Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, has rejected all six resignations.
Criticising the government`s failure to provide adequate compensation to those who lost their homes during the war, Mr. Nasrallah told the residents they would soon have "a clean-handed government" to oversee reparations.
A poll published last week by the Beirut Centre for Research and Information suggests nearly 60% of Lebanese support the opposition, with 70% seeking the formation of a new national government.
Mr. Nasrallah also repeated accusations that the current government had known in advance of "Israel's" plan to attack Hizbullah.