BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has lashed out at Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, saying, "You are not our Lord and your party is not our Lord."
The personal attack, in a televised address, came a day after the Hezbollah chief renewed his pledge to bring down Lebanon's U.S.-backed government, The New York Times reported.
Nasrallah appeared in a live video feed on two large screens before thousands of protesters camped out in downtown Beirut, vowing to press on with street protests that have paralyzed the government and the capital city for more than a week.
The Shiite Islamist militant sheik threatened to force the collapse of the existing government if the governing coalition did not soon meet his demand for what he called a national unity government, in which Hezbollah's alliance would have veto power over all decisions.
Siniora challenged the sheik's credibility and that of Hezbollah -- or the Party of God -- saying Nasrallah's inflamed rhetoric was "one of the things that are making the resistance lose its popularity among Arabs and Muslims."
