March 14 Criticizes Hizbullah's Drone, Calls on Iran to Lift Tutelage over Lebanon

The March 14 General Secretariat lashed out on Wednesday at Hizbullah's Iranian-made drone that penetrated Israeli airspace, accusing the party of luring an Israeli aggression on Lebanon.

“The incident has negative impacts on the Lebanese, who became a victim to the conflict in the region and a shield to Iran in particular,” it said in a statement after its weekly meeting.

On October 6, Hizbullah launched an unmanned drone over Israel, which the Jewish state shot down.

Party chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged the development in a speech on Thursday.

The March 14 General Secretariat pointed out: “Hizbullah's confessions that it is involved in the Syrian crisis and luring an Israeli aggression on Lebanon proves the Iranian influence on its decision and undermines President (Michel Suleiman's) efforts to adopt a national defense strategy.”

It called on participants at the all-party talks to launch a dialogue with Iranian authorities to urge it to lift its tutelage over Lebanon as Hizbullah “seems to represent the Iranian revolutionary guards in Lebanon.”

The General Secretariat also said that Hizbullah is tumbling the cabinet's decision to disassociate itself from the turmoil in the neighboring country Syria.

The government decided to disassociate itself from the revolt against President Bashar Assad, which kicked off in 2011, to preserve stability in Lebanon.

“Hizbullah's evident support to the Baath rule in Syria against its people puts the Lebanese people at risk,” the statement said.

It reiterated demands to deploy the Lebanese army and United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon along the Lebanese-Syrian border under United Nations Security Council resolution 1701.

In addition, the General Secretariat rejected the “cover” provided by Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour to Hizbullah's drone.

“The cabinet is responsible for responding to the Israeli violations with all the necessary means and any compromises offered by it to any side is a national treason,” it said.

Mansour denied on Tuesday media reports quoting him as saying that Hizbullah's drone over Israel had not violated resolution 1701.

The minister was quoted as saying that the “drone did not violate resolution 1701 and Lebanon will assume responsibility for Hizbullah's stances.”

The remarks were published in An Nahar daily on October 14.

The March 14 forces then reiterated calls on the cabinet to resign.