http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=250285The government of Lebanese Prime Minister Raad Hariri was toppled today with the resignation of 11 of his 30 opposition cabinet ministers while he was in New York meeting with U.S. officials on how to remain in power, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
"That's it for Hariri," said one political analyst. "There won't be another prime minister until the Hezbollah agree."
There is some question how long it will take for a new Lebanese government to be formed, but sources said that will depend on Hezbollah and the selection of a prime minister that will be suitable to the Shi'a group which has been identified by the U.S. as a terrorist organization.
Under the Lebanese constitution, the prime minister must be a Sunni. There are many Sunnis who are sympathetic to the Hezbollah.
The walkout came following the failure of Saudi and Syrian efforts to defuse a crisis over the impending release of indictments by the U.S.-backed International Court in the Hague's Special Tribunal for Lebanon, or STL, on the assassination of the late Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri, father of the current prime minister.
Toppling of the government came after opposition members, led by Hezbollah, walked out of the cabinet after repeated efforts to get the prime minister to hold a meeting to discuss the internal crisis surrounding the STL issue.
Sources said that Hariri was reluctant to respond to terms of the Syrian-Saudi initiative because of attempts to have him disavow the STL prior to any indictment being released.
For Hariri, he faced a dilemma of seeking justice for his father's assassination and trying to keep a country from violently splitting along sectarian lines.
The walkout also followed word that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had informed Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, who is in New York recuperating from an operation, and Hariri that any settlement at the expense of issuance of the STL indictment would be rejected by the U.S.
The announcement of the government ministers came at a news conference held at the home of Christian member of parliament Michel Aoun in Rabiyeh. Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah, is head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc.
Opposition members emphasized that the Hariri government "constitutionally resigned" and the situation wasn't a forced takeover of the government.
Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and published by the founder of WND.
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