Osama Hamdan does not accuse any party for death of two Hamas officials

NOW Lebanon
27 December 09

During a press conference on Sunday, Hamas Representative in Lebanon Osama Hamdan said he refuses to accuse any party of killing its officials, Bassel Jomaa and Hassan Haddad, in the car explosion that took place in Haret Hreik in Dahiyeh on Saturday.

Hamdan said that Jomaa was a security official and that Haddad was among the movement’s political representatives. He also said the explosion occurred near the Islamic resistance movement’s office.

According to Hamdan, relevant authorities are following-up on the issue, and he called for waiting for investigation results before jumping to conclusions. He added, however, that the movement does take into consideration that “Israel tracks its officials.”

On the other hand....

Is Syria Behind Killing Hamas in Lebanon?

Farid Ghadry
RPS
27 December 09

On the surface, the murder of two Hamas militants in Lebanon looks like the work of Hamas sworn enemies. But, there is also the possibility that Syria may be behind the bomb for two logical reasons.

US engagement with Assad has not yielded any public results that would be encouraging to either Lebanon, Syrians, or even Israelis. Yet, the policy continues unabated. What exactly is the West getting in return for Lebanon? What are the benefits that have earned Assad silence from the White House when he continues his acts of terror against Iraq and has triumphantly returned to Lebanon in spite of assurances by the Obama administration for its solid support of Lebanon's democracy and sovereignty?

Face-saving measures are important ingredients many authoritarian regimes covet because they hide their weaknesses and expose their strengths. If Assad had to deliver something in return for Lebanon, it has to be something the West needs in order to gain the upper hand against terror. Something Assad insists it gets carried out with total secrecy (face-saving). And as Assad father entered Lebanon in 1976 to subvert Yasser Arafat secretly, Assad son may have promised to subvert Hamas. After all, the Assad regime and the Muslim Brotherhood are sworn enemies and it was a question of time before Assad acted to limit their capacity to become more powerful.

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