Thirteen people linked to Hezbollah face charges including trafficking explosives and undermining state security, as Lebanon’s government seeks to enforce its ban on weapons outside the legal framework.
Hezbollah acknowledged that it owned the explosives seized from the truck and said they were meant for use against Israel.
In June, Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement that envisaged Israel’s gradual withdrawal from southern Lebanon in return for Hezbollah’s disarmament. Hezbollah’s chief, Naim Qassem, dismissed the agreement as “null and void”.
Earlier this month, authorities stopped a truck at Dahr al-Baydar checkpoint, on the main route linking Beirut to the eastern Bekaa Valley. The vehicle was carrying 780kg of explosives, including 250kg of TNT and 250kg of C-4 plastic explosives.
Two people were arrested at the checkpoint, including Haytham Amhaz, a Hezbollah member who is among those accused. Eleven other people were later identified as involved, and remain at large. Five of the 13 accused have been identified only by nicknames because their real names are unknown.
On Friday, Judge Claude Ghanem filed charges against all 13 suspects. The charges include trafficking explosives, weapons possession, undermining state security and forming illegal associations.
Hezbollah called the charges “unjust” and asked the authorities to return the shipment and free the two detainees. Hussein Hajj Hassan, a Hezbollah member of parliament, said the accused “did not undermine the security or integrity of the state, but rather confronted the Israeli enemy that threatens Lebanon’s existence”.
Political sources told al-Akhbar that Hezbollah would not escalate over the charges and that “a decision has been made to give political contacts a chance”.
The seizure prompted heated public debate, with many accusing Hezbollah of planning to assassinate domestic opponents. Sami Gemayel, the Kataeb party leader, called for the case to be referred to the Judicial Council, saying: “Any threat to civil peace is a threat to the state itself”.
The government declared Hezbollah’s military activities illegal in March after the outbreak of the latest war. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said state authorities “will deal with weapons outside the legal framework with the required firmness”. Hezbollah has refused to recognise the government’s decision.
Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after Israel and the United States launched a war on Iran, triggering a conflict that has killed nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon. Israeli forces are occupying a large swath of Lebanon’s south.
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