* Probe into Beirut port explosion frozen again

* Critical days as standoff between politicians, judge deepens

* Two arrest warrants for ex ministers difficult to serve (Adds quotes)

By Laila Bassam and Maha El Dahan

The investigation has been facing obstacles since Bitar sought to question some of the most powerful people in Lebanon on suspicion that they knew about the chemicals but did nothing to avert the disaster.

Bitar is under enormous pressure from groups that have accused his probe of political bias and mounting a smear campaign against him. The leader of the powerful, heavily armed Shi’ite political movement Hezbollah announced on Monday it wanted Bitar removed from the case.

The Aug. 4, 2020 blast, one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions on record, killed more than 200 people and devastated swathes of Beirut.

Apart from the suspension, senior politicians called for questioning have refused to show up and arrest warrants are not being served.

The probe was suspended in late September on the basis of a complaint questioning Bitar’s impartiality. A court rejected the complaint on procedural grounds, allowing him to continue.

Bitar is the second judge to lead the probe since Fadi Sawan was removed from the case in February on the basis of a similar complaint filed by the politicians who are now challenging Bitar’s neutrality.

“For the first time, the judicial system wants to function, but it is suffering under the political pressure and interventions,” said Paul Morcos, lawyer and professor of international law.

ARREST WARRANT

Shortly before being informed of the latest complaint, Bitar had issued an arrest warrant for one of the politicians who filed it, former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil, a senior politician close to Hezbollah.

Khalil, a senior member of the Shi’ite Amal movement, was not immediately reachable for comment.

The second politician was ex-public works minister Ghazi Zeiter, also a Hezbollah ally, who is due for questioning on Wednesday.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah voiced his harshest criticism yet of Bitar on Monday when he called for his replacement in a televised address, saying he was biased and politicised.

The remarks came weeks after Wafik Safa, a senior Hezbollah official, was said to have warned Bitar the group would remove him from the inquiry, according to a journalist and a judicial source.

Khalil’s arrest warrant is the second for an ex-minister arising from the investigation.

The first was issued for ex-public works minister Youssef Finianos, another Hezbollah ally, in September when he repeatedly failed to show for questioning.

Bitar had issued multiple requests in July to question several top officials, including former prime minister Hassan Diab, several ex-ministers and the country’s top security chief about negligence.

All have denied wrongdoing.

But Bitar’s requests were met with resistance and legal complaints questioning his impartiality.

While Bitar has sought to question several politicians who are allied to Hezbollah, including Khalil and Zeiter, he has not tried to question any members of Hezbollah itself. (Writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Tom Perry and Ed Osmond)