Ibrahim distances General Security from al-Hajj case

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim on Monday stressed that the General Security agency implemented the judiciary’s instructions when it interrogated Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj and searched his luggage for at least eight hours at the Naqoura border crossing.

“Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj did not face any insult from the General Security agents and he had 20 travel suitcases which required eight hours to be searched,” Ibrahim told al-Jadeed TV.

“We did not dispose of what the archbishop was carrying. Everything that we confiscated it has become at the disposal of the judiciary,” Ibrahim added.

“If my father crosses the checkpoint or the border crossing and there is a (judicial) order to search him, we would fully perform our duty, and if there is any ambiguity, the authority that should be asked is the judiciary and not security agencies,” the general explained.

He accordingly stressed that neither him nor General Security “have anything to do with political calculations.”

“I have full respect for (Maronite) Patriarch (Beshara) al-Rahi, but as the head of a security apparatus tasked with controlling the entry and exit movement through all borders, it is also part of my job to enforce any judicial order,” Ibrahim added.

As for the border demarcation dispute between Lebanon and Israel, Ibrahim noted that U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein will return to Lebanon at the end of next week to carry out a round of consultations.”

“He might carry an (Israeli) response to the proposal made by Lebanon during his last visit,” the general added.

“We’re headed for a settlement, no matter how much it takes,” he went on to say.

As for Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s recent remarks that a war could erupt over the sea border and gas dispute, Ibrahim said: “A war would have to do with the course of the negotiations and I hope it won’t happen, but if our right will be wasted, I stress that it would be legitimate that we resort to any other method to fulfill this right.”

“The Lebanese state will fulfill Lebanon’s right and it must do what’s needed to recover this right. As for those who assist the state in this matter, they are welcome,” Ibrahim added.