Hizbullah Slams French Accusations Linking Party to UNIFIL Attack
Hizbullah on Monday slammed as a “condemned behavior” accusations by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe who claimed Sunday that the party had a hand in the latest attack on French U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
“Juppe made blatant accusations against Syria and Hizbullah and he himself acknowledged that he had no proof to substantiate his allegations,” Hizbullah said in a statement.
“Hizbullah deplores this condemned behavior, which was inappropriate coming from the foreign minister of an important nation such as France,” the party added.
It called on the top French diplomat to “correct his stance and realize the gravity of such type of accusations, which represent major injustice.”
Five French members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were wounded on Friday when a bomb targeted their patrol on the outskirts of the coastal city of Tyre. Two passers-by were also wounded.
Juppe said on Sunday that Syria was "undoubtedly" behind the bombing, adding however that so far he had no proof to back his claim.
"We have strong reasons to think that this attack came from there," Juppe told the TV5 Monde television channel and Le Monde newspaper.
Juppe claimed that Syria had used Lebanon’s Hizbullah for such attacks in the past.
"I don't have proof," he stressed, while adding that the party was "Syria's armed wing" in Lebanon.
But informed sources told Lebanese daily An Nahar in remarks published Monday that Juppe’s accusation was not merely political, but rather based on preliminary U.N. investigations that point to Syria’s involvement in the attack.
Syria, for its part, on Monday denied involvement in the attack.
"Syria has no link whatsoever with this act which we condemn," Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Maqdisi said in a statement that also criticized Juppe for pointing a finger at Damascus.
Maqdisi said that "remarks by Mr. Juppe and others are within the framework of premeditated French accusations made to mask the reality concerning Syria."
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