Hariri to appear on TV Sunday for first time since resignation

CAIRO – 12 November 2017: Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri is expected to address his people on Sunday for the first time since he delivered his resignation’s statement via Saudi-owned al-Arabia satellite on November 4, according to Lebanese cyber news pages.

According to the circulated news, Hariri will be interviewed by Lebanese anchorwoman Paula Yacoubian at 21:30 (Cairo local time) on Future News satellite channel.

In his speech, Hariri said he feared assassination and accused Iran and Hezbollah of sowing strife in the region. He said the Arab world would “cut off the hands that wickedly extend to it;” using a language which one source close to him said was not typical of the Lebanese leader.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, told ambassadors to Lebanon that Saudi Arabia had “kidnapped” Hariri, a senior Lebanese official told Reuters on Saturday. On Friday, France said it wanted Hariri to have “all his freedom of movement.” However, Saudi officials have reiterated that Hariri is free and not “under house arrest” as some reports stated earlier.

Hariri’s resignation came as more than 200 people, including 11 Saudi princes, current and former ministers and tycoons were arrested in an anti-corruption purge in Saudi Arabia.

Hariri refused supporting the Iran-backed guerrilla group, and announced his resignation the following day from the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Rafik al-Hariri, originally a businessman, was the prime minister of Lebanon between 1992 and 1998, and again from 2000 till his resignation in 2004. He was assassinated on February 14, 2005, by Hezbollah militants through a car bomb, blowing up his motorcade. Rafik al-Hariri is credited for reconstructing the capital Beirut after the 15-year civil war.

In 2006, Israel imposed a blockade on Lebanon from July 12 till August 14, for a total of 34 days, because of the missile attack launched by Hezbollah on the Israeli border towns in an attempt to release the Hezbollah prisoners.

The incidents resulted in Lebanese casualties ranging between 1,191 and 1,300, mostly civilians, and 165 Israeli casualties, including 44 civilians, according to the BBC. Around one million Lebanese and between 300,000 to 500,000 Israelis were displaced, in addition to the destruction of the Lebanese infrastructure.