Summary: Hariri still detained in Riyadh, next moves uncertain. Another own goal by Saudi Arabia following the dispute with Qatar.
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Le Point has the full story of Hariri http://www.lepoint.fr/editos-du-point/mireille-duteil/liban-jusqu-ou-ira-mbs-le-prince-heritier-saoudien-13-11-2017-2171865_239.php
The footage of the Hariri interview I have seen shows,inadvertently, a man in the background holding a sheet of paper. Hariri is clearly nervous about the man in the background, his eyes flicking back and forth. Though the Saudis and Hariri himself say he is not being held against his will, the facts clearly suggest otherwise. If he is free why not return to Beirut? Intriguingly, the Times of Israel reported yesterday, Nov 12 that “Saudi Arabia last week ordered Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to either accept an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal being put together by the Trump administration, or resign, according to an Israeli report Sunday.” (https://www.timesofisrael.com/saudis-told-abbas-to-accept-trump-peace-plan-or-resign-report/)
So the MbS-Kushner game plan looks like this: bounce Hariri out for being too close to Hezbollah, force Abbas to accept a (bad) 2 state deal, launch some sort of aerial assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon…and er, that’s it. Sounds like the sort of plan that two young men full of their own importance cooked up at a late night meeting in Riyadh. Kushner flew to Riyadh on Oct 25, according to Politico (https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/29/jared-kushner-saudi-arabia-244291) for an unannounced meeting with MbS, returning on the 28th October. A few days later the great purge and the “kidnap” of Hariri happens. It all begins to feel like a classic Mafioso style shakedown.