Lebanese military court presses charges against 13 Hezbollah members over explosives seizure in Dahr Al Baidar, Lebanon

Lebanon’s Military Court has pressed charges against 13 Hezbollah members over the seizure of half a tonne of explosives from a vehicle travelling towards Beirut, according to The National.

Judge Claude Ghanem issued the charges against eight members whose identities are known. These include the two occupants of the vehicle, Ali Al Kurdi and Haitham Amhaz, as well as five others known only by their aliases. The two men are the only members of the group currently detained by authorities.

The charges include endangering the security of the state, ignoring government decisions, membership of a banned organisation, and possession of firearms and explosives. The National News Agency reported that the penalty for the alleged offences is 10 years’ imprisonment.

The explosives were seized at a checkpoint in Dahr Al Baidar in the Bekaa Valley earlier this month. The seizure provoked outrage in Lebanon, where large areas of the south of the country remain under Israeli occupation, the source reports. Hezbollah has demanded the release of its operatives and the return of 250kg of TNT-type explosives and 250kg of C4, which it said were intended for use against Israel. The government has refused any handover and says it will see the investigation through to the end. Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan said the wanted members were performing a “national duty protecting Lebanon” and fighting against occupation, and that they deserved to be “praised”, not tried.

The case has also deepened a dispute within the Lebanese government. Some cabinet ministers, including Justice Minister Adel Nassar, have sought to have the case heard by the Judicial Council, which oversees national security trials. That demand was not added to the cabinet agenda on Thursday, and a number of ministers, including Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi, did not attend in protest. The source notes that Hezbollah has repeatedly criticised a government push to disarm it and its leaders’ pursuit of direct negotiations with Israel, and that tensions are now likely to worsen.

The government’s insistence on a full investigation reflects the principle that those who hold such weapons answer for them before the law (Luke 12:48). US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called President Joseph Aoun and urged him to ensure the seized explosives were not returned to Hezbollah, despite its demands.

Source: Read the original report