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The myth that Lebanon’s miseries are the result of Israeli policies has once more been punctured, with former Lebanese PM Saad Hariri blaming Hezbollah’s weaponry for the country’s chronic problems.

Hariri said in a TV interview from Paris where he has been based for the last one month:

“The weapons are the cause of the problem in Lebanon. Hezbollah does not know what to do with its arms. It is our problem with Hezbollah and also it is a problem for Hezbollah… What is it going to do with them? Is it going to continue pointing them at the Lebanese?”

The interview aired Hariri’s first public comments since the UN Special Tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of his father Rafik issued indictments against four Hezbollah operatives two weeks ago on June 30.

Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah has tried to blame Israel for Rafik Hariri’s murder, but to little avail.

Saad Hariri became PM after his father’s assassination but lost the position this year when Hezbollah mustered the numbers in the Lebanese Parliament to depose his government and install its own cabinet.