From the Angry Arab:
According to a Lebanese police sources cited in Al-Akhbar, Hitchens was not attackedin Beirut. And the SSNP also denied the story and said that they had no posters in Beirut. If this story is made up it would not be a first: remember that Hitchens claimed to have interviewed Abu Nidal, when there is no evidence whatsoever for that interview. (The source who first sent me the story need to follow up NOW). (thanks Saeed)
For those who don’t read Arabic the story is basically a two paragraph piece saying exactly what the above says. Maybe its just me but reading the words “F…Off” in English mixed into an Arabic article is funny:
وإنه عندما رأى شعاراً للحزب السوري القومي الاجتماعي، لم يتمكن من تحمُّل ذلك، فحمل قلمه وبدأ يكتب على الشعار. وأوضح أنه أراد أن يقول للحزب السوري «f.. off». عندها
When trying to judge the seriousness of these claims, keep in mind that Al-Akhbar is generally pro-Syrian, pro-Hezbollah, and anti-US foreign policy. Therefore, by definition, they hate and have an interest in embarrasing someone like Hitchens, an ardent supporter of the Iraq war whose trip to Lebanon was paid for by a Pro-March 14th group. It would make their day if it turned out that the fight story turned out not to be true.
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