Former Lebanese prime minister slams Nasrallah for vowing to up Shi'ite militant group's involvement in Syria after Beirut blast.
By JPOST.COM STAFFSaad Harir speaks in front of picture of Rafik 311R(photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
A high-ranking Lebanese politician on Saturday condemned Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah for pushing Lebanon further into the war in Syria.Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri blasted Nasrallah for remarks made during a speech in which the Hezbollah leader threatened to increase his group's involvement to fight Sunni Islamists in Syria, Lebanon's The Daily Star reported on Saturday.Nasrallah on Friday accused radical Sunni Islamists of being behind a car bomb that killed 24 people in Beirut and vowed that the attack would redouble his group's commitment to its military campaign in Syria.Hariri, on his Twitter account, responded to the blast in Beirut as "an ugly crime," but slammed Hezbollah's involvement in Syria as "a crime as well”.“Sayyed's speech takes Lebanon to further involvement in the Syrian fire. It is a pity to squander the blood of the Lebanese in such a way,” the Daily Star quoted Hariri as saying.He added that Nasrallah's comments "did not break the cycle of escalation”.Thursday's blast in the Shi'ite militant group's south Beirut stronghold followed months of sectarian tension and violence in Lebanon fueled in part by Hezbollah's intervention against Sunni Muslim rebels in Syria's civil war.Reuters contributed to this report.
