Wahhab: Hizbullah Saved Lebanon from Carnage, Hariri to End Up in Prison

Ex-minister Wiam Wahhab noted Sunday that “Hizbullah’s intervention” had rescued Lebanon from a “major carnage” in the wake of Saturday’s clash in the Chouf town of Jahliyeh, as he pointed out that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will “end up in prison.”

Wahhab had announced Saturday that Hizbullah "told Hariri" that Jahliyeh's incident would lead to a "civil war," but Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement denied that Hizbullah had contacted the PM-designate, accusing the ex-minister of seeking to "deviate attention."

“I will file a lawsuit Monday against Hariri, (Internal Security Forces chief Imad) Othman and (State Prosecutor Samir) Hammoud,” Wahhab told TV networks ahead of the funeral of Mohammed Bou Diab, one of his supporters who died of his wounds following Saturday’s clash with a commando unit from the ISF’s Intelligence Branch.

The ISF has announced that Bou Diab was hit by a bullet fired by Wahhab’s supporters and that its forces had not opened fire during the incident. Wahhab disputed the announcement on Sunday, saying the man was hit by a sniper gunshot.

“He was five meters away from me and he looks like me,” Wahhab said, suggesting that there was an attempt on his life.

“He was killed by a weapon belonging to the state according to the forensic doctor’s report and he was targeted from a distance by a sniper,” the former minister added.

“The safety of Mount Lebanon and Lebanon is more important than us all but Saad Hariri, Samir Hammoud and Imad Othman must bear the responsibility for what happened,” Wahhab went on to say.

“Mt. Lebanon’s safety must not be jeopardized, even if my blood is spilled,” Wahhab said.

“The Hariri-Hammoud-Othman criminal trio is responsible and we will sue them,” the ex-minister vowed.

Adding that “Saad Hariri will end up in prison and will be behind bars when the political circumstances change,” Wahhab said he has asked supporters not to block roads or fire in the air during Bou Diab’s funeral.

The ex-minister also said that he had intended to appear before Hammoud to testify at the justice minister’s request but that the state prosecutor “did not answer” his phone call on Saturday.

Saturday’s clash erupted during an attempt to arrest Wahhab at his home in Jahliyeh.

A security source told LBCI television that the security force headed to Jahliyeh to arrest Wahhab at the judiciary’s request after he had been “informed two times of the need to appear before the Intelligence Branch” in connection with a lawsuit filed against him.

The lawsuit was filed by a group of lawyers accusing Wahhab of insulting Saad Hariri and his slain father ex-PM Rafik Hariri.