by thenationalnews.com -- Lebanon’s former prime minister, Hassan Diab, has filed a lawsuit challenging the state over his prosecution in connection with the Beirut port blast that killed over 200 people last year. The lawsuit comes a day before the former leader's questioning session by Judge Tarek Bitar, the lead investigator in the Beirut blast probe. Mr Bitar has charged Mr Diab along with four other ministers of criminal negligence in connection with the case. All five have snubbed Mr Bitar’s summons, arguing he had no constitutional authority to prosecute them.

The judge had issued a subpoena for Mr Diab and arrest warrants for two of the four indicted officials, including ex-finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil, a member of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s bloc and the target of US sanctions. Mr Berri and his Shiite allies, Iran-backed Hezbollah, have accused Mr Bitar of politicising the case. Once notified of the lawsuit, Mr Bitar must pause his prosecution of Mr Diab until a ruling is issued by the Supreme Court, in line with the law. The Supreme Court also has yet to rule on two other requests to oust Mr Bitar due to concerns over his impartiality. Mr Diab said the judge had no authority to prosecute him, echoing arguments by Hezbollah and their allies who called for the trial of indicted officials take place before a special body comprising members of Parliament and judges.

by arabnews.com — RIYADH: Saudi Arabia summoned the Lebanese ambassador to the Kingdom on Wednesday over “offensive” comments made by Lebanon’s information …

By Reuters -- Lebanon’s top Christian cleric on Tuesday said the country’s three leading politicians agreed to a “solution” to political tensions and government paralysis tied to high-profile judicial investigations. “There is a constitutional and legal solution to the current crisis,” Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai said during a news conference after a day spent shuttling between the prime minister, the parliament speaker and president. An official source said the solution involved prosecuting former ministers charged over the August 2020 Beirut port explosion at a special court made up of MPs and judges while allowing blast investigator Tarek Bitar to continue with the cases of lower-level officials. The special court, formed by a parliamentary vote, has never held any official to account. Bitar has sought to question top officials including former ministers affiliated with the Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal movement and the Marada Movement, both allies of Hezbollah, which has responded with a smear campaign accusing Bitar of politicising the probe. Rai had earlier said after a meeting with Berri that issues had to be resolved “because Lebanon is dying, the people are dying and the state is disintegrating.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has not convened a Cabinet meeting since Oct. 12, pending a solution to the standoff that has paralysed government for over two weeks. The dispute spilt over into the Cabinet when ministers allied to those parties called for Bitar’s removal in a heated discussion during the last session. Rai also said he was “slightly upset” about the summoning of Lebanese Forces party leader Samir Geagea by army intelligence for a hearing over fatal clashes in Beirut’s Ain Al-Remmaneh neighbourhood this month. On Oct. 14, seven people, all followers of Hezbollah and Amal, were shot dead during a Beirut protest the parties organised against Bitar, the worst street violence in more than a decade. The parties said the seven were killed by supporters of the Christian Lebanese Forces party headed by Samir Geagea, who has backed the blast investigation. Geagea has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari told Lebanese religious figures on Tuesday that the Kingdom “cares for Lebanon’s security, stability, institutions and co-existence between Christians and Muslims.” The Saudi embassy’s media office said: “There is no legitimacy for the discourse of strife, nor for one that goes against Lebanon’s Arab identity.” This was the first Saudi statement since the bloody clashes in Tayouneh on Oct. 14.