Hariri tribunal's Israel challenge

The decision of the prosecutors of the United Nations Special Tribunal to look at the information, presented by Hezbollah last week in which its leader Hassan Nasrallah accused Israel of being behind the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, is a step on the right track.

First, the move would allay at least some of the concerns of some Arabs that the court was manipulated by western powers to exclude the obvious suspect in the Hariri murder — Israel. Secondly, after years of unsubstantiated accusations against Syria and its Lebanese allies, the new move means the UN probe has finally decided to quit its single track investigation and look at other suspects.

However, it remains to be seen if the UN prosecutors will pursue the new lead. Sceptics believe the decision is a public relations stunt pulled by the prosecutors following recent statements of many Lebanese parties indicating their opposition to the court, considered by those parties as ‘an American-Israeli ploy to instigate sedition' in Lebanon and spark a new war.

The prosecutors must be given the benefit of the doubt. They have said repeatedly they work independently and are motivated only by the pursuit of justice. They need, however, to get Israel, which has so far refused to acknowledge the UN investigation, to cooperate, which is undoubtedly a tougher task.