Mustaqbal Rejects FSA Threat against Dahiyeh, Urges Probe into Death of Hizbullah Members

Al-Mustaqbal bloc condemned on Tuesday Free Syrian Army's threat to intervene militarily on Lebanese territories, especially in Beirut's southern suburb, as a retaliation to Hizbullah's alleged involvement in the Syrian war.

In its weekly meeting that was presided over by former Prime Minister MP Fouad Saniora, the bloc considered FSA's statement to be jeopardizing the neighboring countries' relations.

"This threat is totally rejected and would harm the relations between the Lebanese and Syrian peoples, and this is something caused by Hizbullah's practices,” the bloc said.

Al-Mustaqbal called for an intensive investigation into recent media reports about the party's involvement in the Syrian war.

"Hizbullah, although active participant in the cabinet, is clearly going against the government's position of being neutral towards Syria's events,” the bloc's statement said.

Rumors have been spreading about secret burying of Hizbullah members that lost their lives in Syria while fighting against the FSA. The rebel FSA announced on Tuesday the arrest of 13 of the party's fighters in the countryside of the Syrian province of Homs, threatening to “teach Hizbullah a lesson in the heart of Dahiyeh”, the party's main stronghold.

Regarding the newly revealed documents that claimed a cooperation between Hizbullah and the Syrian regime in the assassination of the late MP Gebran Tueni, al-Mustaqbal urged the cabinet and local judicial bodies to cooperate with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in investigating them.

A leaked U.S. Embassy cable dated December 19, 2005 said Syria was likely behind Tueni's assassination in 2005, which was aimed at silencing his caustic remarks against the regime of President Bashar Assad. The document was sent by head of the operations department in the Syrian intelligence, Hassan Abdul Rahman, to then chief of national security department Assef Shawkat, according to al-Arabiya.

Al-Mustaqbal also rejected Syria's continuous violations of the Lebanese territories among other issues, calling the United Nations and the Arab League to immediately act and draw an end to these activities.