BEIRUT: Lebanese director Charbel Khalil told The Daily Star Sunday that he would not apologize for impersonating Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and Prophet Jonah in an episode of his comedy show. “I will not apologize,” Khalil said. “We are continuing with our work, and this issue is behind us now.”

After tuning in to the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International’s satirical show “Basmat Watan” – a play on words in Arabic meaning both “smiles of a nation” and “death of a nation” – over the weekend, a number of Hezbollah supporters took to the streets in Beirut and Baalbek to protest the comical impersonation of the party’s secretary-general.

Others in Tripoli also protested over the impersonation of the Prophet Jonah.

But the show’s director, Charbel Khalil, challenged his critics and said he would not apologize for the episode.

“Apologizing is not possible because what would I be apologizing for?” Khalil told LBCI Saturday night, a day after the episode, which airs on the local television channel, raised tensions. [Link]