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Key Witness In Sharon Trial Assassinated
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| Hobeika was
prepared to testify against Sharon |
BEIRUT, Jan. 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – A former Lebanese minister and Christian militia leader, Elie Hobeika, was killed Thursday when his car blew up in Beirut, news agencies reported.
According to reports from Beirut, Hobeika's Jaguar saloon blew up at 0730 GMT in a parking lot near his home, starting a blaze in the building and damaging a number of other cars in the vicinity.
Three other people in the car, who were all wearing diving suits, were also killed in the blast in the city's eastern suburbs of the Hazmiyeh district, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Justice sources said a car carrying 10 kg (22 lb) of explosives blew up as it passed Hobeika's car, where oxygen tanks fueled the blast, charring the bodies of Hobeika and his driver and tossing others as far as 50 meters (yards).
However, one security source said explosives had been planted in diving gear that Hobeika had in his own vehicle.
The bodies lay scattered amid pistols and twisted hunks of metal from cars and glass from windows shattered by the blast.
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| Young victims
of the bloody Sabra and Shatila massacre |
Rescue workers rushed to extinguish fires sparked by the bomb in nearby buildings.
No one claimed responsibility.
The blast that killed Hobeika was the first major car bombing in Beirut since 1994.
Hobeika, 45, was the intelligence chief of the right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces militia - blamed for the massacre of up to 2,000 Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
He died a day after saying he was ready to testify in a case brought by Palestinians in Belgium accusing Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, who denies sanctioning the massacres when he was defense minister, of crimes against humanity.
Hobeika said in July that he was ready to testify against Sharon. He repeated the offer Wednesday, January 23, to visit Belgian senators. The Palestinians' case was launched under laws giving Belgian courts powers to try crimes against humanity, wherever they have been committed.
A 1983 Israeli inquiry into the camp massacres said Sharon bore "indirect responsibility" and that Hobeika had helped direct Christian fighters who did the killing.
The subsequent Israeli inquiry into the Sabra and Shatila massacres pinned the responsibility on then Israeli defense minister, now Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and Hobeika.
Hobeika always denied ordering the massacres and said during a press conference in July last year he was prepared to testify in a Belgian court which could try Sharon for war crimes and submit evidence.
“I openly declare that I am very satisfied that the Sabra and Shatila case has been brought to Belgium, perhaps giving me the first opportunity in 19 years to tell the truth and defend myself and my reputation ... and get cleared of this accusation,'' Hobeika said.
Hobeika said he has “irrefutable proof'' of his innocence in the brutal killings September 16-18, 1982.
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| Hobeika's
Jaguar after the blast |
"I'm not a war criminal. I don't regard myself as a war criminal... I am not afraid of international justice," he added.
The complaint filed in June with a Belgian judge demanded that Sharon be indicted for crimes against humanity in accordance with Belgian law that allows for such trials of foreigners in another country. The complaint did not mention Hobeika's role.
Last year, Hobeika said during an interview with the Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV, that Sharon had planned this massacre of Palestinian refugees.
A Belgian appeals court is expected to rule March 6 on whether Sharon should stand trial.
A Belgian senator was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) Thursday, January 24, as saying that Hobeika had told him earlier this week that he had "revelations" to disclose about the massacres and felt "threatened".
According to senator, Josy Dubie, he asked Hobeika why he did not reveal all the facts he knew immediately, to which he answered: "I am saving them for the trial."
The dead man had no shortage of Palestinian and Lebanese enemies, but many in Beirut accused the Israelis whose invading troops surrounded the Palestinian refugee camp at the time.
Lebanese President, Emile Lahoud, immediately accused "foreign elements" of
being responsible for the assassination - which correspondents say is a veiled accusation against Israel, BBC’s online news service reported.
Lebanese Minister of Displaced People, Marwan Hamadeh, pointed accusing fingers at Israel.
"My initial evaluation is that of course Israel doesn't want witnesses against it in this historic case in Belgium which will certainly convict Ariel Sharon, he permanent and continued criminal," he told reporters at a news conference in Jordan.
"Israel is responsible for this," said Nasri Lahoud, a Lebanese military court official, as he inspected the scene.
Israel denied any role in the blast.
"It's totally unfounded. We have left Lebanese territory. We don't want to play (a role) there any more," Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, said in response to Hamadeh’s accusation.
Meanwhile, a Lebanese group saying it opposed Syria's continued grip on the country, claimed responsibility for Hobeika’s murder, saying Hobeika was a traitor for switching his allegiance to Damascus some years ago. The claim could not immediately be verified.
The group calling itself the "Lebanese For a Free and Independent Lebanon" said in the statement that it carried out the attack to warn Syria to get out of Lebanon.
There was no immediate reaction from Syria, with which Hobeika maintained close ties.
Like many other Maronite Christians, Hobeika was initially allied with Israel against what they saw as the threat of Syrian domination.
But only five years after Israel trained him and other officers of the Lebanese Forces militia to fight Palestinians, Hobeika cemented a new and more lasting alliance with the Syrians. He remained close to Syria -- the most powerful domain in Lebanon -- until his murder.
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