Hizbullah MPs Walk Out, Moussawi Slams Mashnouq as 'Spy'
Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc MPs on Wednesday walked out en masse of the parliamentary debate session on the new government’s Policy Statement, as bloc MP Nawwaf al-Moussawi slammed as “spy” his colleague Nohad al-Mashnouq, member of the Mustaqbal bloc.
The lawmakers walked out while Phalange bloc MP Nadim Gemayel was addressing parliament.
Following the verbal clash during the morning session between MPs Assem Qanso and Khaled al-Daher, who called each other “dog” and almost engaged in a fistfight, the afternoon session went in the same fashion.
Hizbullah’s Moussawi interrupted the speech of Mustaqbal’s Mashnouq, lashing out at his colleague.
“You are an intelligence agent and your price is well-known,” Moussawi said, addressing Mashnouq.
Moussawi’s accusation came in response to Mashnouq’s remarks on the arrest warrants issued recently by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for four Hizbullah members in the case of ex-PM Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination.
“Aren’t these accused resistance fighters members of the same party that has recently discovered (CIA) agents among its ranks? Everyone errs, but this is a sin,” Mashnouq said, prompting the angry reaction by Moussawi.
Mashnouq’s speech was also interrupted by Hizbullah’s Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan and MP Ali Ammar.
“These are major insults, we cannot remain silent,” Hajj Hassan shouted.
The heated exchange prompted the intervention of Speaker Nabih Berri, who told Mashnouq that the session was dedicated to discussing the ministerial Policy Statement rather than attacking a certain political party.
The speech of Phalange Party bloc MP Samer Saade also drew a response from Moussawi.
“How do you want us to grant confidence to a government that does not want to hang those who committed the (Hariri) crime and are being protected by a party that does not want to hand them over, not even after 300 years,” said Saade, prompting Moussawi to say: “Let them talk, we will not listen.”
“The same as we had rejected to live under the authority of Palestinian arms … we will not be frightened today from (Hizbullah chief) Sayyed (Hassan Nasrallah), nor from his weapons and rockets,” Saade added, drawing angry responses from several Hizbullah ministers and MPs.
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