Lebanese Lawyers File Complaint Against Hezbollah and Netanyahu

Four Lebanese lawyers have filed a complaint with the Public Prosecution Office in Beirut against the Secretary General of Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for the crime that occurred at the Port of Beirut on August 4.

According to lawyer Tariq Shandab, the complaint against Nasrallah includes smuggling weapons through the Port of Beirut, as well as smuggling weapons through legal and illegal land crossings and overall responsibility for causing the explosion.

The complaint against Netanyahu is based on news published by Haaretz Hebrew Newspaper after the explosion regarding an Israeli bombing of the port, targeting Hezbollah weapons.

Shandab told IranWire that Hezbollah is penetrating the borders, killing people and using public facilities to store weapons. The lawyers are demanding that the case be referred to the judicial investigator assigned by Beirut to look into the disaster.

IranWire contacted the Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar for a statement on the party's position, but he refused to comment. The MP Amin Shiri also declined to comment, remarking only that the subject of the complaint was "something silly”.

In a televised speech a few days ago, Nasrallah said: "We do not manage nor control the port, we do not interfere with it, and we do not know what is happening at it or what is in it." He rubbished the prospect of an international investigation into the tragedy, suggesting that the army be assigned to it instead.

The Secretary General of Hezbollah also said that the blast on August 4, which left more than 170 people dead and 6,000 injured and laid waste to tens of thousands of homes, had been an “exceptional event” in the modern history of Lebanon. As such, he said, it should not be politicized, and he stressed the importance of domestic unity and calm.

The Lebanese authorities have also rejected a formal international investigation, referring the investigation to the Supreme Judicial Council, the highest legal authority in the country.

On August 7, the President of the Lebanese Republic, Michel Aoun, tweeted: “If we are unable to rule ourselves, no one will be able to rule us... Lebanese sovereignty will not be compromised during my time in office.”

Despite this, there is already some external involvement in the inquiry. According to France 24, the French ambassador to Lebanon has stated that 46 French officers are participating in the investigation. The US Under Secretary of State David Hale has also said the FBI will be joining the team.