The leader of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Jaaja, confirmed that Elias Al-Hassruni "was murdered and did not die in a traffic accident as they initially tried to portray the crime. This is very clear from the cameras surrounding the crime scene, which the perpetrators were unaware of, and this is why they were caught off guard." He pointed out that Al-Hassruni "was kidnapped in his car and taken to a location relatively far from the kidnapping site where he was killed. The crime footage is now in the hands of the specialized security forces, whether the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces or the Military Intelligence Directorate of the Lebanese Army, and we are reviewing with them daily to follow up on the investigation's progress."
Jaaja stated that "the crime occurred deep within Hezbollah's controlled areas, where they hold full security and military control. Everyone remembers what happened approximately six months ago with one of the UNIFIL patrols that lost its way; it was stopped shortly thereafter, and unfortunately, an Irish soldier was killed. So, what do you think would happen if a convoy of no less than three or four vehicles, containing at least eight people, entered deep within Hezbollah's territory, kidnapped a specific individual, and took him elsewhere to kill him? Despite all the time that has passed since this crime, Hezbollah still knows nothing about it."
Jaaja made these remarks during a dinner organized by the Lebanese Forces Coordinating Committee for Jezzine at the party's headquarters in Maarab. He addressed the incident in Khaiala, stating that "it is impossible for the state and the statelet to coexist. Let us ask ourselves, if a truck belonging to the Lebanese Army filled with weapons and ammunition were to, God forbid, have an accident at the Khaiala corner instead of a Hezbollah truck, what do you think would be the reaction of the people? Naturally, they would rush to the scene immediately, calling out to one another. Women, children, and everyone in the town would come to help lift the truck, and they would never wait for any crane. They would assist the soldiers on the scene with whatever they needed, and the soldiers would welcome this help without any issues and collaborate with the locals to resolve the incident swiftly."
Jaaja believed that "the only solution to all these issues lies in not having more than one state and one army on the same ground. As long as the situation is not like that, we will remain susceptible to incidents like what happened in Khaiala."
Regarding the presidency, he said: "People think that the matter of electing a new president for the country is very complicated, while this is not true; the solution is simple: the MPs should attend the election session in Parliament and vote for a president. However, the reason this is not happening is that there are those who deliberately obstruct the presidential elections, either to bring their candidate to the presidency or they ensure that elections never take place. This has been the case up until now, and unfortunately, one of your neighbors, though a bit far away, is the one orchestrating this farce, calling for an election session while their MPs are the first to leave the session to disrupt the quorum in collaboration with others."
He concluded: "What more do we have to wait for to demand a president for Lebanon? We are not asking for a president just for ourselves, even though we are the largest parliamentary bloc and the biggest Christian party." He pointed out that "the other team lacks the democratic strength to bring their candidate to the presidency and insists on his arrival as if they want us to help bring him in against our will, and this will not happen this time."
