Dany Haddad
MTV Website Exclusive
Forty-eight hours after the announcement that two Hezbollah members had been arrested while transporting a large quantity of explosives from Baalbek to Beirut’s southern suburbs, the party’s media machine swung into action.
It began with a leak about ISIS returning to Lebanon, aimed at diverting attention from the explosives shipment. This was followed by a campaign on a media platform targeting Government Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Claude Ghanem, with reports circulating that he had bowed to orders from the president to arrest the two men transporting the explosives, which the platform claimed were intended to be “used against the Israeli enemy.”
Notably, Hezbollah has issued no statement on the matter. It appears that party officials decided to order their media to deny the allegations and fabricate news, even though the nature of the explosives suggests they may have been intended for assassination operations. It is worth noting that transporting explosives, even if they are intended for use against Israel, is prohibited under Cabinet decisions.
A large number of inaccurate leaks have also circulated on news websites in recent hours. Some of these are believed to have originated from Hezbollah in an attempt to distort accurate information emerging from the investigation, which confirms that the two men admitted to being members of Hezbollah and provided information and names. Meanwhile, Al-Akhbar newspaper has maintained a complete blackout on the matter, making no mention of it.
Latest Information
According to information obtained by MTV, reports in several media outlets claiming that one of the detainees is the son of a Hezbollah official are untrue. This claim does not appear in either of the two investigation records that were prepared.
The investigation is set to be expanded starting Tuesday to include the military personnel stationed at the Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint, where the two men were arrested. It will also cover the wife of one of the detainees, who was contacted before the men headed out to collect the explosives shipment.
It is worth noting that the two detainees were transferred from the Bekaa Valley to the Lebanese Army Intelligence Directorate in recent hours.
MTV has also learned that the shipment was seized at 3 pm on Monday, October 5, and the relevant judicial authorities were notified approximately two hours later.
MTV’s sources further confirm that no Hezbollah official contacted Government Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Claude Ghanem, contrary to reports circulated by Hezbollah-affiliated media outlets. Nor did the president ask Ghanem to take any action. Rather, Ghanem himself contacted the president after news of the explosives seizure broke, in order to brief him on the matter.
It began with a leak about ISIS returning to Lebanon, aimed at diverting attention from the explosives shipment. This was followed by a campaign on a media platform targeting Government Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Claude Ghanem, with reports circulating that he had bowed to orders from the president to arrest the two men transporting the explosives, which the platform claimed were intended to be “used against the Israeli enemy.”
Notably, Hezbollah has issued no statement on the matter. It appears that party officials decided to order their media to deny the allegations and fabricate news, even though the nature of the explosives suggests they may have been intended for assassination operations. It is worth noting that transporting explosives, even if they are intended for use against Israel, is prohibited under Cabinet decisions.
A large number of inaccurate leaks have also circulated on news websites in recent hours. Some of these are believed to have originated from Hezbollah in an attempt to distort accurate information emerging from the investigation, which confirms that the two men admitted to being members of Hezbollah and provided information and names. Meanwhile, Al-Akhbar newspaper has maintained a complete blackout on the matter, making no mention of it.
Latest Information
According to information obtained by MTV, reports in several media outlets claiming that one of the detainees is the son of a Hezbollah official are untrue. This claim does not appear in either of the two investigation records that were prepared.
The investigation is set to be expanded starting Tuesday to include the military personnel stationed at the Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint, where the two men were arrested. It will also cover the wife of one of the detainees, who was contacted before the men headed out to collect the explosives shipment.
It is worth noting that the two detainees were transferred from the Bekaa Valley to the Lebanese Army Intelligence Directorate in recent hours.
MTV has also learned that the shipment was seized at 3 pm on Monday, October 5, and the relevant judicial authorities were notified approximately two hours later.
MTV’s sources further confirm that no Hezbollah official contacted Government Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Claude Ghanem, contrary to reports circulated by Hezbollah-affiliated media outlets. Nor did the president ask Ghanem to take any action. Rather, Ghanem himself contacted the president after news of the explosives seizure broke, in order to brief him on the matter.
