Grand Jaafarite Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan called on Wednesday for immediately removing Judge Tarek Bitar from Beirut blast investigations, warning against playing with fire. In a statement, Sheikh Qabalan criticized Judge Bitar's tense approach in dealing with the port blast case, stressing the the investigator is leading Lebanon into a catastrophe.

Sheikh Qabalan added that Judge Bitar enabled the foreign embassies to play a role superior to that of the political and legal authorities in the country.

The ministers representing Hezbollah, Amal Movement, and Al-Marada Movement demanded that the judicial investigator be recused during a government session.

However, the session, which was scheduled to be held today (Wednesday) was put off.

The Judicial Investigator into Beirut blast, Tarek Bitar, was recused on Tuesday after the two MPs Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter filed a lawsuit against him over the legitimate suspicion.

On August 4, 2020, a massive blast rocked Beirut Port blast, killing around 196 citizens and injuring over 6000 of others.

The explosion also caused much destruction in the capital and its suburbs