Sheikh Qassem: Hizbullah Fulfilled Its Responsibility, Ball in Court of Lebanese PM

Hizbullah Secretary General Deputy, His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem assured that "Hizbullah has fully played its role and responsibility, and that the responsibility now lies on the other party," adding "Prime Minister Saad Hariri knows what he ought to do, the ball is in his court."

In a statement to As-Safir newspaper on Saturday, Sheikh Qassem said "We are pushing towards an agreement, as it is for the better of every one. But in agreements, there is nothing such as 80% or 90% success, they are either realized or not."

"When talking about optimism, we can say that the atmosphere is acceptable. Meanwhile, we are waiting for the official Syrian-Saudi announcement that the settlement succeeded," Sheikh Qassem added.

Concerning the period required until reaching an agreement, Hizbullah SG Deputy underscored this period should not be long, pointing out "the agreement should be realized before the issuance of the indictment, which is in the interest of all sides in the country."

Asked a question on the American capability to hampering the settlement, Sheikh Qassem assured that the Americans are confused, as they are wavering between their desire that the indictment be issued to witness its repercussions on the Lebanese arena, particularly the targeting of Hizbullah, and between slowing down in fear of unexpected consequences.

Furthermore, Sheikh Qassem held the 14 March campaign responsible of crippling the government, explaining "There is no justification for taking no decisions on the false witnesses' issue, especially that the opposition has proposed two possible solutions to be discussed in the Ministerial Council, which are either transferring the file to the Justice Council, or refer it to voting no matter what the results are."

Moreover, His Eminence stressed that "the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was proved upon evidence to be designed to target the opposition and resistance, with Hizbullah and Syria topping the list of targets."

In the same context, Sheikh Qassem added that the flexibility of the court in choosing targets and searching for fabricated evidence is the proof to its politicization.
Hizbullah SG Deputy ended on this note by reminding that "Even the STL's general prosecutor Danielle Bellemare reproached the US ambassador, according to the revealed cables by Wikileaks, on how the US is not helping enough in providing evidence against Syria. 

Sheikh Qassem recalled Bellemare's words in the cables to the US Ambassador "This (STL) is an American investment that cannot succeed without without your (US) cooperation."