Hariri rejects working under Hezbollah-named PM

[oberliner]

Source: Reuters

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri refused to serve in a new coalition led by a nominee of Hezbollah as parties began negotiations on Monday to form a government in which the Shi'ite group now has the upper hand.

Lebanon was plunged into political crisis after Hezbollah and its allies walked out of Hariri's unity government on January 12 in a dispute over still confidential indictments by a U.N.-backed tribunal which is investigating the 2005 killing of statesman Rafik al-Hariri, the premier's father.

Hariri has stayed on in the interim and hoped to form a new coalition. But a switch in allegiances by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has made it more likely that a Hezbollah-backed prime minister would be able to command a majority in parliament.

Hariri, a Sunni Muslim who has support from the United States and Saudi Arabia, said his supporters would not serve under a premier chosen by the Iranian-backed Shi'ite group.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70N33820110124

[freedomnorth]

1. this depends on Egyptian situation

If the planned protests in Cairo and Alexandria lead to same situation as in Tunisia, Israel would have to focus more on its African side. And release pressure from Lebanon.

[bemildred]

2. Hezbollah wins enough support to name new Lebanon PM

BEIRUT - Hezbollah has secured the support from a majority of parliament to nominate its candidate for prime minister, putting the Iranian- and Syrian-backed militant group in position to control Lebanon's new government.

Hezbollah toppled Saad Hariri's Western-backed unity government on January 12 over his refusal to renounce a United Nations-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/hezbollah-wins-enough-support-to-name-new-lebanon-pm-1.338906