Qaouq Says Same Political Cover for Syria Rebels, Arsal 'Troop Killers'

Hizbullah noted Sunday that “those providing political cover for opposition fighters in Syria are the same ones who are providing political cover for those who killed army troops in Arsal,” adding that “providing cover for Syrian gunmen in Lebanese territory is a continuous crime against the country and Syria.”

In a speech he delivered at a memorial service in the southern town of Qabrikha, deputy head of Hizbullah's Executive Council Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said “Israel does not dare to wage any aggression against Lebanon because it cannot afford to bear the equations and surprises of the resistance."

"The objective behind what's happening in Syria has become clear and the facts have verified what Hizbullah has been saying since the beginning of the crisis that what's required is to remove Syria from the axis of resistance," Qaouq said, adding that the latest Israeli airstrike on Syria was part of the alleged plot against Damascus.

"In Lebanon, there is a camp that decided to be a member of the axis of aggression against Syria, and the camp that is financing and arming (the opposition) in Syria is the same camp that is financing, inciting and arming those who killed the army troops in Arsal," Qaouq said, adding that "those providing political cover for opposition fighters in Syria are the same ones who are providing political cover for those who killed army troops in Arsal.”

The top Hizbullah official also claimed that there are Lebanese MPs and political parties “who are insulting the army and providing full political cover for those involved in killing its troops as part of their mission, which is financed by foreign forces and aimed at undermining the army.”

Qaouq called for “protecting the army, which is the symbol of the country's unity, instead of protecting the weapons of the militias that pose a threat to Lebanon or protecting Syrian gunmen who have turned the Lebanese border area into a route and launchpad for attacking Syria.”

The Hizbullah official stressed that “providing political cover for the Arsal crime is tantamount to taking part in it” and that “providing cover for Syrian gunmen in Lebanese territory is a continuous crime against the country and Syria.”

Qaouq added: “No one is denying the presence of Free Syrian Army gunmen in Lebanese territory anymore, after the Lebanese army arrested many Syrian gunmen in Lebanon and after the Lebanese judiciary put on trial several Syrian gunmen for infiltrating Lebanese territory.”

“The side offering them political cover is well-known,” Qaouq went on to say.

A Mustaqbal movement delegation that visited the eastern border town of Arsal on Sunday called for a fair and transparent investigation into the ambush of an army patrol that left two soldiers dead.

Arsal municipal chief Ali al-Hujairi reiterated the request of the town's residents for army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji to hear the two versions of the story.

The army said that last Friday a patrol was ambushed by Arsal gunmen as it was hunting a man wanted for several terrorist acts.

The clashes that ensued left an officer with the rank of captain, Pierre Bashaalani, and Sergeant Ibrahim Zahraman dead, and several military personnel wounded, it said.

But Arsal residents claimed that the soldiers were in civilian clothes and hadn't informed the town's authorities that they were planning to carry out a raid.