Hezbollah denies any role in the Beirut port blast and Ein El Helweh clashes

On the third anniversary of the the devastating Beirut Port explosion, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah pointed out that it is “a painful and sad memory, and we renew our condolences to the families of the martyrs, and we express our sympathy to all those who were injured,

He added: I remind you that we are all still waiting for the truth, but the one who blocked the truth is the one who politicized this incident from day one.”

He added, “Some malicious media outlets came out from the first moment to accuse Hezbollah of bombing the port, and black rooms, meetings, and statements began, and a battle was launched to hold the party responsible for this explosion.

Fingers have been pointed at Hezbollah ever since the explosion took place for the following reasons:

1- The majority called for an international investigation of the explosion , similar to the case of the investigation of the assassination of former PM Rafic Hariri, but Hezbollah and former president Michel Aoun, who was considered a rubber stamp for Nasrallah refused . Aoun promised that within one week a Lebanese investigation will be able identify the criminals behind the explosion and bring them to justice. It has been three years and none of the culprits who are mostly allied with Hezbollah was ever brought to justice.

2- Hezbollah is the party behind the firing of the judge who started the investigation . judge Fadi Sawwan

3- Hezbollah and and its allies have been trying for years to get rid of Judge Tarek Bitar who replaced Judge Sawwan in probing the blast and were able to suspend his investigation several times . a move that outraged the relatives of the victims of the blast .

3- Hezbollah is concerned over being exposed for its role in acquiring, the storing and the using of the of the ammonium nitrate that exploded at the port. Most of the 2750 tons that were initially stored at the post reportedly ended up being used by the Syrian regime ,any ally of Hezbollah in its barrel bombs against the civilians . According to a report by FBI following the explosion only about 500 of 2750 tons were still at the port when it exploded.

Ain El Helweh clashes

Addressing the issue of the deadly clashes inside the Palestinian Refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh he asserted.

“We are not responsible for the battle in Ain al-Hilweh, and we have nothing to do with it in any way and we are working with all concerned to stop this fighting, which hurts us on an emotional level, and this harms the resistance project in Lebanon and the region, and affects our pain and hopes.

Hezbollah was the only militia that was allowed to keep its arms at the end of the civil war in Lebanon. The clashes inside the camp are between the Islamist militants who are supported by Hamas and Fatah which is supported by the Palestinian National Authorities .

Nasrallah’s comments come after the phalange Party chief Sami Gemayel said that he is holding the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group responsible for the deadly clashes in the largest Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in south Lebanon, near the city of Sidon.

“With the presence of Lebanese and non-Lebanese armed militias on Lebanese soil, the Ain al-Hilweh clashes are a normal result of that,” Gemayel said in an interview with al-Hurra TV.

Since Hezbollah is backing the Palestinian Islamists Hamas , there is a lot of suspicion in Lebanon that Hezbollah , the only armed militia in Lebanon may have been the source of the arms inside the camp.

Commenting on Nasrallah’s denials , Ali Hussein a Lebanese analyst was quoted as saying ” Nobody is going to buy what Nasrallah is saying , not even Nasrallah himself. “