July 26, 2010 - Now Lebanon - STL funding will not be halted, says French source

Al-Hayat newspaper quoted on Monday an anonymous high-ranking French official as saying that the states funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri are not likely to halt their financial support.

The source called on the Lebanese to remain calm and wait for the results of the probe, denying that France has any information about the court’s investigations.

He also said that the country does not have any reason to doubt the transparency of the STL’s work.

Tension sparked in Lebanon after reports said the tribunal would soon issue its verdict, most probably before the end of the year. Media reports have said that some Hezbollah members could be named in the indictment.

When asked if French officials mentioned a potential attack on Lebanon to Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi last week in Paris, the source said, “[France] hopes the Blue Line [marking the Lebanese-Israeli borders] will not be violated and condemns any activity that breaches UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”

The source also touched on Israel’s April accusations that Syria was supplying Hezbollah with Scud missiles and said that “no one provided evidence of the transfer, which is why no one is talking about it anymore.”