Hezbollah refuses any STL indictments

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Hezbollah refuses to be falsely accused by a tribunal examining the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, its leader said.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in a speech marking the Shiite holy day of Ashura spoke in support of Palestinians, saying negotiations "are dead" and the only option left it resistance and repatriation of land.

He said he wasn't making a call to arms, however, but urged support for Palestinians and a lifting of the Israeli blockade on Palestinian territories.

Israeli is no longer a threat to the region and the "time when you could scare us is over," he said in statements published by Hezbollah's al-Manar.

There is a new conspiracy, Nasrallah added, in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which he said is an assault on Hezbollah and Lebanon.

The STL is expected to hand down indictments in the 2005 bombing that killed Hariri in downtown Beirut. Hezbollah is a likely suspect, though the Shiite movement said it has evidence to suggest Israel played a role in the plot.

"We refuse to be falsely accused and we shall thwart the objectives behind such indictment," said Nasrallah.