They insist on the appointment of Shiite ministers in the government and claim that the Minister of Finance must be among them
Lebanese Hezbollah on Thursday accused the US administration of obstructing the formation of a new Lebanese government after stumbled efforts to form a government cast a shadow of doubt on the French initiative to pull the country out of the crisis.
Hezbollah, a Shiite movement that enjoys Iranian support and is considered a terrorist organization by Washington, is one of the parties at the center of the dispute, which has complicated the process of forming a government.
France relies on Lebanese factions and sectarian leaders to form a government that would implement economic reforms and pulls the country out of the deepest crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
The deadline agreed between Lebanese politicians and Paris to form a government expired on Tuesday without making any progress.
Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal movement, insist on the appointment of Shiite ministers in the government and claim that the Minister of Finance must be among them.
Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc claims that the French initiative is important, but that the American administration is “the one responsible for obstructing the efforts to form a government.”
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, the leader of Amal, is adamant in insisting on the appointment of the finance minister after Washington imposed sanctions on his senior adviser last week for corruption and aiding Hezbollah, sources from several parties said.
The advisor, Ali Hassan Khalil previously served as a finance minister.
Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc has hinted that a government could still be formed.
Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib, a Sunni appointed under French pressure , is working on proposals to change control over the ministries, some of which have been led by the same factions for years, political sources say.
Adib, who has the key support of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a leading Lebanese Sunni politician, has said he does not want to back down from his task of forming an expert government, a source close to him said in a talk with The Eastern Herald.
Adib claims that if an expert government is not formed, then a different approach would be needed, “but that is not in line with the task assigned to me,” the source said, Reuters reports.
