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BEIRUT (Reuters) – The leader of the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah insisted that one of its Sunni allies be given a portfolio in a new Lebanese cabinet, and indicated it would be ready to go back .
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters via a screen in Nabatiyeh, Lebanon, November 10, 2018. REUTERS / Aziz Taher
In a televised speech on Saturday, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also warned Israel that his Iranian-backed group would respond to any attack on Lebanon and urged his country to withstand diplomatic pressure over its rocket arsenal.
Hezbollah's request for one of its Sunni allies be given a portfolio in the new Lebanese government is at the heart of a row that has been obstructed to final agreement six months since a parliamentary election.
The formation of a new government is necessary before any move towards tax compliance.
Hezbollah says one of its Sunni allies must be represented in the government to reflect their election earnings.
But Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri, who is Lebanon's main Sunni politician and enjoys western backing, has ruled out allocating any of its cabinet seats to them.
Lebanon's political system requires government positions to be allotted along sectarian lines.
Nasrallah said rejecting him at the March ally from its "March 8" camp amounted to exclusion of a section of Lebanese.
"We were sincere when we spoke of a national unity government. There is no national logic, or moral logic, or legal logic … for anyone in Lebanon to come out and say it is forbidden for the March 8 Sunnis to be represented in the Lebanese government, "Nasrallah said.
"If it's forbidden, let's talk again from the start," he said, adding: "We do not want conflict, or tension, or escalation."
President Michel Aoun vowed earlier on Saturday to find a solution to the problem. Though a political ally of Hezbollah, Aoun has sided with Hariri in the row.
Hezbollah, groups and individuals that support their possession of weapons.
Hezbollah is proscribed by the United States. The group last fought a major conflict with Israel in 2006, since when it has grown stronger as a major participant in the Syrian war.
Nasrallah said Israel had recently tried to increase pressure on the group's rocket arsenal and to create "a state of intimidation and threat that it is not dealt with, it (Israel) will deal with it". Israel had used "the Americans and some European states" in this effort, he said.
"Nasrallah said," I say to Lebanon that it must bear this level of diplomatic pressure. "Any attack on Lebanon, any air strikes on Lebanon or bombing – we will certainly respond," he said
Reporting by Tom Perry and Laila Bassam; editing by David Stamp
