Qaouq Says Nusra, ISIL 'Present in Lebanon', Urges Formation of Unity Govt.
A top Hizbullah official on Sunday warned that the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are "present in Lebanon," noting that the best response to the bombings that are hitting Lebanon is the "speedy formation of a national unity cabinet."
“Ever since we went to Syria to confront the takfiri terrorism, we have managed to rein in the crimes of these takfiri terrorists,” Hizbullah Executive Council deputy head Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said during a memorial service in the South for Malak Zahwi and Iman Hijazi, who were killed in the Haret Hreik bomb attack.
“The international community and the peoples of our nation have realized the firmness of our stance and that the battle is against the takfiris and not against the Syrian people, as both segments of the Syrian people, those who support the regime and those who oppose it, have understood that the takfiri terrorism is a threat to everyone, as is the case in Lebanon,” Qaouq added.
He noted that the deadly attacks in Sidon, downtown Beirut, Dahieh and Tripoli are part of the “same scheme of sedition” that is rocking Iraq and Syria.
“It has the same source of funding and arming and it can only be confronted through a clear, unified stance. This stance must be endorsed by all political forces in the country because everyone is targeted and entire Lebanon is in danger,” Qaouq cautioned.
“Al-Nusra Front and the ISIL are present in Lebanon and some parties have pledged allegiance to (ISIL chief Abu Bakr) al-Baghdadi and (Nusra chief Abu Mohammed) al-Golani,” he pointed out.
Qaouq called on all Lebanese parties to “unite in the face of this threat, especially that Lebanon has become a hub for takfiris who are carrying out terrorist and criminal operations in Lebanon and Syria.”
The top Hizbullah official underlined that “the response to the criminal wave of bombings that is targeting all the country and all the Lebanese is the speedy formation of a national unity cabinet that closes the doors in the face of takfiri terrorists and immunizes stability and national unity.”
Qaouq noted that the top priority of this government must be “agreeing on a national strategy to confront the takfiri terrorism that poses a threat to the entire country,” warning that “it's not about the attacks on Hizbullah, the Shiites, the South or Dahieh, as these (takfiris) want to ignite fire in Lebanon, the same as they ignited it in entire Syria and entire Iraq.”
The Hizbullah official pointed out that "we are before an extraordinary opportunity to form an inclusive political cabinet that does not eliminate anyone" and "we must not waste it."
"If the president (Michel Suleiman) wants a cabinet that can win a vote of confidence in parliament, only a national unity cabinet can win a majority in parliament," Qaouq emphasized.
On December 27, ex-Finance Minister and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's adviser, Mohammed Shatah, who is a prominent critic of the Syrian regime, and seven others were killed in car bombing in the heart of the capital.
And on Thursday, a car bombing rocked the Beirut southern suburb of Haret Hreik, a Hizbullah stronghold, killing four people and wounding more than 70 others.
The bombing was claimed Saturday by the Qaida-linked ISIL, which vowed further attacks against Hizbullah in Lebanon.
ISIL said in a statement posted online that it had penetrated the "security system of the Party of Satan (Hizbullah)... and crush its strongholds... in a first small payment from the heavy account that is awaiting those wicked criminals.”
On Thursday, a leader in the Salafist Jihadist movement in Jordan announced that the both al-Nusra Front and the ISIL have officially decided to enter Lebanon militarily.
"Al-Nusra leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani and ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took the decision to officially and openly enter Lebanon,” the leader told the Washington-based United Press International.
"They want to be militarily present in the country until Hizbullah withdraws its fighters from Syrian territories and frees all detainees it is holding as captives,” he explained.
The Salafist Jihadist Movement in Jordan is allied with both ISIS and al-Nusra Front in Syria.
In Iraq, security forces are preparing a major attack to retake the city of Fallujah, which has been taken over by fighters from the ISIL, which is also facing a major offensive against it by rival rebel groups in neighboring Syria.
ISIL is accused of horrific abuses against other insurgents, activists and civilians in areas where they operate in war-torn Syria.
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