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Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah's Golden Cage: Movement Loses Remains of Influence in Lebanon

2025-02-11

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov

[REGNUM] Lebanon continues to gradually emerge from a long-term political crisis. Following the election of the president and the approval of the prime minister's candidacy, official Beirut approved the composition of the government. For the first time in a long time, it included only a few representatives of Hezbollah - and they did not occupy the most important positions. There was also a scandal.

Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus tried at the last minute to put pressure on the Lebanese authorities in order to achieve the "complete expulsion" of pro-Iranian forces from the cabinet. However, to no avail: Prime Minister Nawaf Salam did not follow Washington's lead and did not change the approved composition of the government.

This principled approach did not bring Hezbollah much joy: the movement, although it retained some of its leverage over Lebanese politics, effectively lost its influence over the military-political situation within the country, and was left alone with old problems.

ALMOST WITHOUT HEZBOLLAH
The new Lebanese government included 24 ministers, with posts equally divided between Muslim and Christian forces, a major achievement for Prime Minister Salam. Previous attempts to secure such a clear consensus had only exacerbated rivalries.

Representatives of Hezbollah and its allies received at least five portfolios in the government. In particular, the Ministry of Labor ( Muhammad Haidar ) and the Ministry of Administrative Development ( Fadi Makki ) remained under the control of the Party of God.

Moreover, Makki also retained the unofficial status of “mediator minister” between the legislative and executive branches, which ensured Hezbollah’s integration into the political dialogue at the highest level.

As for the Hezbollah-allied but more moderate Shiite Amal party, its creatures have taken over three structures: the Ministry of Health ( Rakan Nasreddin ), the Ministry of Finance ( Yassin Jaber ) and the Ministry of Environment ( Tamara al-Zein ).

Despite some discord between Hezbollah and Amal after the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, the tactical alliance of the two Shiite parties was preserved. This means that in the new formation, the pro-Iranian forces still have the opportunity to control the country's financial flows through the hands of their allies.

Of course, five portfolios for all is a rather modest result for the Shiite parties. Especially compared to the pre-crisis period, when Hezbollah and its allied forces could simultaneously control up to half of the cabinet, as well as part of the parliament. However, given the losses suffered by the Shiite forces during the conflict with Israel, preserving at least part of the political capital can already be considered a tactical victory.

SYMBOLIC POSITIONS
The inclusion of Hezbollah protégés in the new government does not mean that the movement has been able to recover from the months-long war with Israel without losing political points. On the contrary, the new cabinet formation has consolidated the trend of gradually distancing Shiite forces from military decisions.

Not a single representative of the pro-Iranian wing made it into the “power” bloc (even as deputy ministers), and leadership positions in key departments were occupied by figures dissatisfied with the “excessive independence” of the Hezbollah units.

The movement's leadership remembers well the promise of the country's new president, Joseph Aoun, to return the national army's "monopoly on the use of force" (including through the disarmament of numerous militias and "personal guards" of Lebanese politicians) and sees the redistribution of spheres of influence within the cabinet as the first step in this direction.

In theory, Hezbollah can still resist the pressure being put on it, for example by stalling some of President Aoun's initiatives through the permanent speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri.

The latter, himself a Shiite, has been sympathetic to friendly parties for many years and is interested in ensuring that the influence of Hezbollah, which many Lebanese Shiites still see as their only protector, does not wane.

But pushing too hard through parliamentary channels could backfire, plunging the country into a constitutional crisis. And Hezbollah will inevitably bear the brunt of the blame.

NEW FRONT
The challenges facing the "Party of God" are growing day by day. In southern Lebanon, sporadic clashes continue between militias from Shiite villages along the border (who are reportedly supported by Hezbollah volunteers) and armed formations of the "new Syria".

Beirut and Damascus are effectively on the brink of a new armed conflict.

The Lebanese establishment has so far preferred to ignore the tensions in the border area and has not made any claims to the Syrian side. Lebanese troops are inactive in the region.

At the same time, the central government does not allow Hezbollah units to act independently, apparently fearing that their return to southern Lebanon will disrupt the agreement on the withdrawal of the Israeli contingent from Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah's leadership is also in no hurry to get into trouble, preferring to support the border Shiite villages behind the scenes, without entering into direct confrontation with Damascus. In any case, until the framework of the ceasefire agreement with Israel is in effect.

However, time is not on Hezbollah's side. Delays in the south threaten to undermine the movement's credibility among ordinary border residents. And this is fraught with difficulties in the further restoration of Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Eliminating Hezbollah's Voice Will Be a Problem for the Trump Administration

2024-11-22

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov

[REGNUM] The IDF recently reported the elimination of another high-ranking Hezbollah official. The target was Mohammed Afif, the head of the information service and a close associate of several secretaries general of the movement, also known by the informal nickname "The Voice of Hezbollah."

Despite the fact that Afif's killing has seriously complicated the search for a compromise between Israel and Hezbollah, the US continues to rush them to cease fire. However, such haste may eventually lead to even greater problems for Washington.

There’s not much longer to rush — President Trump’s priorities are very different than those of the current team.

THE MOST VALUABLE FUNCTIONARY
Mohammed Afif belonged to the generation of the “founding fathers” of Lebanese Hezbollah; at the time of its liquidation, he had been in the movement for more than 40 years, more than half of which were spent in the information block.

He received his nickname "The Voice of Hezbollah" for his significant contribution to the formation and development of the movement's information strategy. It was Afif who brought the information coverage of Hezbollah's activities beyond the "party" media.

Official comments from the movement's functionaries began to appear in authoritative regional and international publications. Under his leadership, representatives of the Hezbollah press service began to hold full-fledged press conferences.

In addition, over the past decade, Afif has consistently served as a liaison between Hezbollah and the Lebanese population, providing detailed explanations of the movement's policies and goals.

“Here’s what you need to shut up about and accept from the Master Branch of the Master Religion, guys. Off you go and practice that while we attack the Zionist Entity to protect you from them.”

With the start of the IDF's limited operation in southern Lebanon, this part of its authority has acquired critical importance, especially in the context of responding to the increasing frequency of Israeli attacks on Lebanese population centers.

"You don't win your war by air superiority, bombing, or killing civilians, including women and children," he said.

That’s standard doctrine. And why the IDF has entered southern Lebanon on foot and in tanks.

It should be noted that Afif often acted not only as one of the key spokesmen for Hezbollah, but also as the Secretary General's envoy for special assignments. Active interaction with Lebanese and Syrian politicians, as well as with representatives of other groups of the pro-Iranian "Axis of Resistance" took place through him.

All this made Afif one of Hezbollah's most valuable functionaries.

ISRAEL IS LOOKING FOR FRIENDS
The elimination of Afif opened a new page in the confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah.

For the first time in a long time, the Israelis chose as a target not a field commander or a top official, but a representative of a “related” structure not directly involved in military operations. Although the IDF Spokesperson’s Service tried to gloss over this point, indicating that the liquidated Hezbollah spokesman, due to his closeness to the movement’s top leadership, “made a significant contribution” to the planning and organization of operations against Israel.

Such actions are intended not only to decapitate key Hezbollah structures, but also to disrupt its interaction with other loyal forces in Lebanon. In particular, with the Shiite Amal party, which joined the “united front” against Israel in December 2023, but has lost its enthusiasm over the past year.

Israel is also trying to take advantage of Hezbollah's temporary absence of a new spokesman to sow distrust between the movement and other forces in Lebanon and beyond.

Thus, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar regularly calls on “oppressed minorities in the Middle East” to come closer to Israel in order to jointly confront Iran and its proxy groups. And the most convenient way to test such a strategy is within the framework of the current limited ground operation against Hezbollah, since Israel has sufficient resources to conduct such experiments without compromising the overall effectiveness of the campaign.

Among Tel Aviv's potential allies in the Lebanese direction, they see the Druze (more than 280 thousand of them live in Lebanon). The Israeli side is unobtrusively trying to win over the leader of the Lebanese Druze, Walid "Wally" Jumblatt, to its side, appealing, among other things, to the negative precedent of a Hezbollah rocket hitting the Druze village of Majd al-Shams in July 2024.

Although there has been little progress in the dialogue so far, tensions between Hezbollah and Jumblatt's supporters continue to mount.

EVERYONE IS STALLING FOR TIME
Despite the general complication of the negotiating environment caused by Afif’s death, the United States – as the key mediator in the dialogue between Hezbollah and Israel – continues to adhere to the previous settlement strategy.

US President Joe Biden's special envoy to the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, who is overseeing these negotiations, believes that a ceasefire agreement is "within reach" and that new rounds of escalation of the conflict do not affect the parties' intention to reach an agreement.

He keeps saying that, and technically it’s true — a small distance contains infinite points inside it.

He visited Lebanon the day before, and then met with Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on November 21.

This conviction is dictated by the need for the Biden administration to obtain at least one successful example of a Middle East settlement before leaving office in January 2025.

Need and get are not necessarily the same. Oh well.

It is possible that, in pursuit of this goal, Washington will try to force both parties to conclude a formal agreement. This is indicated, in particular, by the White House's readiness to include in the draft treaty a clause on the parties' right to self-defense. Just a couple of months ago, this was considered an unacceptable step.

It still is unacceptable to Hezbollah, no matter what the Lebanese politicians and people might be willing to accept.

On the other hand, the question of the sustainability of the security guarantees offered by Washington remains open - especially in light of the imminent change of administration in the White House. Both Israel and Hezbollah understand this well, and therefore they are in no hurry to agree to the conditions put forward, although they do not reject them completely.

Each side is stalling for time as much as possible.

At the same time, Hezbollah still intends to respond proportionately to the death of its press secretary, as its high-ranking officials regularly remind us. As Secretary General Naim Qassem previously stated, a “blow to the heart of Beirut” will be followed by a counterblow “to the heart of Tel Aviv.”

Uh huh. But who will bell the Israeli cat?

And although Hezbollah does not disclose the details of the planned operation, the revenge action (given Afif's weight in the apparatus) will hardly be of a smaller scale than in memory of the previously liquidated Hassan Nasrallah. And this, in turn, threatens a new round of escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, with a rejection of previous agreements and guarantees.

However, the Democrats in the US are not too worried about this: it will most likely be Donald Trump’s team that will have to deal with the crisis.

It’ll be the Israelis regardless, if any of Hezbollah’s efforts actually get beyond the annoyance level.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Having failed to defeat Hezbollah in battle, Israel is looking for apostates and dividing Lebanon

2024-11-20

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Dmitry Polyakov

[REGNUM] A month and a half after the start of the ground operation in Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the start of the second stage. The main goal is to destroy Hezbollah's missile potential.

The Israeli army has made its largest attempt to break into its northern neighbor's territory. At the same time, the Jewish state continues to carry out daily airstrikes on the "land of cedars." Not only the border areas in the south are under fire, but also the Bekaa Valley and the suburbs of Beirut.

However, behind the military component of the operation there are other aspects.

BETTING ON COLLABORATION
As a result of Israeli bombing in the border zone of Lebanon, more than 40 thousand residential buildings in almost 40 settlements have already been destroyed.

There is a price for hosting vicious, genocidal scum who turn out not to be strong or clever enough to carry it off.

It is noteworthy that there are several completely untouched towns in the area. Among them are Rmesh, Ain Ebel, Maroun ar-Ras, Dbel, located in the Bint Jebel region, and al-Klaya in the Marjayoun region. These small towns are populated mainly by Maronite Christians.

In other words, towns that are not hosting the vicious, genocidal scum, etc..

Formally, the reason these cities are not under Israeli attack is the mediation efforts of the Catholic Church. Residents regularly receive assurances from the Apostolic Nuncio (Vatican Ambassador) in Lebanon that the Christian border areas will remain safe. In addition, a diplomatic representative of the Holy See has repeatedly visited the Lebanese-Israeli border since October 7, 2023, including on a humanitarian mission.

But Israel may also have other reasons for leaving Christian cities untouched.

One of the stated goals of the ground operation is to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

Said buffer zone having been defined by Israel as not hosting that vicious, genocidal scum, etc., exactly like those Christian cities/towns.

In the recent past, such a project was already implemented in the form of the so-called "South Lebanon Security Zone", which existed from 1985 to 2000. Formally, it was controlled by the South Lebanon Army (SLA), a paramilitary formation consisting of Maronites, Shiites and Druze. However, in reality, the zone was an Israeli protectorate with a military presence of the IDF.

It is noteworthy that many of the AJL commanders came from the cities of Rmesh, Dbel and Ain Ebel, which remain untouched today. In addition, it is known that the inhabitants of Marun ar-Ras and Klaia collaborated with Israel. It is quite possible that today the Jewish state is again returning to the tactics of interaction with the Maronite population. And there are some prerequisites for this.

Currently, Lebanese society is extremely polarized. There is no single position on the Israeli invasion. One part of the citizens supports the continuation of the resistance, while the other blames Hezbollah for the conflict and supports its disarmament, as well as negotiations with Israel.

This position is most often taken by supporters of right-wing nationalist parties, dominated by the Maronite Kataeb and Lebanese Forces. Moreover, during the Lebanese civil war (1975–1990), prominent Maronite families such as Gemayel and Chamoun briefly collaborated with the Jewish state to achieve their own political goals. Israel’s bet on the Maronites may therefore be a well-founded move.

DESTABILIZATION STRATEGY
Israel's current actions are aimed not only at inflicting a military defeat on Hezbollah, but also at significantly reducing support for the movement. This strategy is being implemented through the internal destabilization of its northern neighbor.

The systematic bombing of southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and the suburbs of Beirut suggests that Israel is seeking to displace more than a million Shiites, which in turn is expected to lead to social tensions in the "Land of the Cedars."

Already, about half a million Lebanese have fled the war to neighboring Syria, and almost 900,000 to the interior of the country. This has immediately caused tensions within Lebanese society. In addition, Israel has also begun to strike Shiite areas in cities where the majority of the population is made up of members of other faiths, which makes them see Shiites as a threat to their security.

…because they are…

Therefore, massive Israeli bombings are aimed not only at the military component, but also indirectly intensify interfaith confrontation.

Another goal the Jewish state likely wants to achieve through its attacks is to reduce support for Hezbollah within Shiite society.

The insight is blinding.

In Lebanon, the Shiite voice is not only Hezbollah, but also the Amal party. It is important to note that there are significant socioeconomic differences between their electorates. The first party has always been the focus of the disadvantaged strata of the population, while the second party has been the focus of the middle class and the bourgeoisie, which has created the image of Amal as a more respectable party in the Lebanese political system.

Does Amal also have a terrorist army, or is that Hezbollah’s special role?

Moreover, the stratification of Shiites also depends on their places of settlement. The Bekaa Valley is generally home to a poorer population. In southern Lebanon, on the contrary, citizens are more affluent. Most of the leaders of the Shiite community also come from this region. Understanding these differences, in recent years Hezbollah has been actively expanding its support base in the south of the country, taking away the electorate from Amal.

However, it is the southerners who have suffered the most in the current conflict. In order not to lose their support, the Party of God is allocating small compensation: $300 for a family of four and $100 for each adult male.

They have the funds for that after that billion dollars of gold and cash was burnt up?

However, these amounts are unlikely to cover all the damage incurred. As a result, there are already signs of discontent in the Shiite community, which may appear in the future.

Another consequence of the Israeli operation was the deepening of differences between Hezbollah's allies. First, tensions increased between Hezbollah and Amal. Following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, Amal Secretary General Nabih Berri called for an unconditional ceasefire. His position was supported by Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Druze leader Walid "Wally" Jumblatt.

All three agreed to a cessation of hostilities and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the redeployment of the Lebanese army to the south of the country.

Secondly, Gebran Bassil, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, another Hezbollah partner in the March 8 Coalition, also criticized the Shiite party. In his opinion, the “united fronts” strategy chosen by the “Axis of Resistance,” which implies the unification of all pro-Iranian forces against Israel, was a fatal mistake.

It is noticeable that as the conflict grows, Hezbollah's domestic political partners are increasingly distancing themselves from it and advocating for a ceasefire rather than continued resistance. In the current circumstances, the Party of God will be forced to either take their position into account and not put forward excessive conditions in the negotiations, or it will remain in the minority.

Thus, the current Israeli ground operation pursues several goals at once, and the military aspect is only one of them. In a month and a half of military action, the Jewish state was unable to destroy Hezbollah's military potential. However, it managed to change the conditions in which the Shiite movement exercised its power.

Lebanese society is becoming increasingly divided. Hezbollah is losing support among both its political partners and its supporters. Moreover, it no longer has control over the entire south of the country. These factors, rather than military superiority, may be decisive in the current conflict.

Those factors result from the IDF’s military superiority, not separate from it.

Link

Africa North

Saied Slams Symbols of 'Political Islam' in Tunisia

2021-04-15

[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Tunisia’s President Kais Saied slammed on Tuesday representatives of "political Islam" in the country.

In an address to Tunisians on the occasion of the start of Ramadan, he hoped for an end to the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)

coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)

...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
pandemic and to "political epidemics," in an implicit reference to Islamists.

His comments raised question marks over the strategy he would adopt to confront his political rivals, mainly the Islamist Ennahda Party, which backs Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi.

According to observers, Saied changed his rhetoric towards the political parties that speak in the name of religion once he returned from his three-day visit to Cairo.

The opposition al-Amal party considered raising this issue in Egypt an attempt to allow foreign intervention in Tunisia’s internal affairs and a threat to the country’s national security.

The party stressed that political Islam shouldn’t be addressed "through attempts to internationalize or hinder the parliament’s work or obstruct the establishment of the Constitutional Court."

It further affirmed its keenness to "bring down" representatives of political Islam in the country and introduce political change while respecting the constitution and resorting to polls.

The President had earlier described the political situation in Tunis as "painful," stressing for a strong political determination to resolve it.

During his meeting with some members of the Tunisian community in Egypt, Saied pledged to find a solution.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Leb PM declines to be questioned in Beirut blast probe, official source says

2020-12-15

[THEBAGHDADPOST] Leb
Leb

...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
’s caretaker prime minister, Hassan Diab, has declined to be questioned by the judge who charged him and three former ministers with negligence over the Beirut port blast, an official source said on Monday.

Judge Fadi Sawan has met pushback from influential parties including Shi’ite Hezbollah and Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri, underlining the political hurdles facing the investigation.

Lebanese are still waiting for answers four months since one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts on record. A stockpile of ammonium nitrate, stored unsafely for years, detonated in August, killing 200 people, injuring thousands and devastating entire districts.

Some politicians accused Sawan of being selective and overstepping his powers by charging ministers. Others, including the head of the Beirut Bar Association, said the move showed courage.

The outgoing premier "has said everything he has to say about this file, full stop," according to his office. Diab, who has testified as a witness, quit after the disaster but continues to serve in a caretaker role.
He and President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
were warned in July that the nitrate could destroy the capital if it went kaboom!, according to documents seen by Rooters. Aoun has said he had no direct authority over the port.

Sawan requested an appointment from Diab’s office but was told he would not agree to be questioned, the official source at the prime minister’s office said.
Sawan could not immediately be reached for comment.

The caretaker interior minister, Mohammed Fahmi, said he would not enforce any arrest warrants for Diab or the other officials if they refused to be questioned. "And let them pursue me if they wish," Lebanese newspaper al-Joumhouria quoted him as saying.
After meeting with Diab on Friday, Hariri pledged not to let anyone "violate the post of prime minister" - a seat reserved for a Sunni Moslem in the sectarian power-sharing system.

The ex-ministers charged by Sawan are members of parties allied to Hezbollah, which said the charges smacked of "political targeting". Two are from Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
’s Shi’ite Amal party, which also accused the judge on Monday of breaching the constitution.

Lebanon’s senior Christian holy man, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, said on Sunday he hoped reactions to Sawan’s move would not obstruct the probe or cause "a national division on a sectarian basis".

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun designated Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri as prime minister

2020-10-23

[TWITTER]

#Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun designated Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri as prime minister on Thursday. Hariri was backed by his own Future lawmakers, the Shi’ite Amal party, Druze politician Walid Jumblatt’s party and other small blocs.#Hariri https://t.co/3Z1bc1bGmt
— Daily Times (@dailytimespak) October 22, 2020

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Top Christian clerics urge Lebanese leaders to agree on government

2020-10-19

[THEBAGHDADPOST] The leaders of Leb
Leb

...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
’s Maronite and Orthodox Christian churches urged Lebanese leaders on Sunday to stop delaying talks on forming a government in scathing sermons in which they blamed them for the country’s financial crisis and political deadlock.

Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, leader of the Maronite church, was speaking a day after demonstrators marched through Beirut to mark the first anniversary of a protest movement which erupted last October against corruption and mismanagement.

In the year since, Lebanon’s problems have been compounded by the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
pandemic and a devastating explosion in Beirut in August.

"Take your hands off the government and liberate it. You are responsible for the crime of plunging the country into total paralysis in addition to the implications of the corona pandemic," the patriarch said in his sermon.

His remarks came after two main Christian parties, the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
(FPM) and Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
, said this week they would not back the nomination of former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to lead a new government to tackle the deep economic crisis, further complicating efforts to agree a new premier.

"The responsibility and accountability is collective. Who among you officials has the leisure of time to delay consultations to form a government?" he said.
"No one is innocent of Lebanon’s (financial) bleeding."

The head of the Shi’ite Amal party and parliamentary speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
said he was optimistic next week would bring reassuring news for Lebanese in terms of government formation.

"We will see movement starting Monday," he was quoted by NBN television as saying, without elaborating.

In his Sunday sermon, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi also lambasted the political elite.

"Return to your conscience, leaders ... be humble and listen to the pain of your people," the archbishop said.

Hariri, who quit as prime minister last October in the face of the nationwide protests, has said he is ready to lead a government to implement reforms proposed by La Belle France as a way to unlock badly needed international aid.

Parliamentary consultations to name a new prime minister were due to be held last Thursday, but President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
postponed the discussions after receiving requests for a delay from some parliamentary blocs.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Tensions rise as Hezbollah supporters clash with Lebanese Army

2019-10-22

[JPost] Lebanon began a sixth day of anti-government protests on Tuesday after supporters of the Hezbollah terrorist movement and the pro-Hezbollah Amal party confronted Lebanese protestors in Beirut on Monday evening.

Videos posted on social media showed motorcycles bearing the flags of Hezbollah and Amal driving through the streets of Beirut, according to Lebanese broadcaster MTV. The motorcycles were confronted by the Lebanese Army and prevented from reaching protestors. About 200 motorcycles took part in the parade, according to Al Arabiya. Military and security sources have stressed that the army will not confront protestors.

"We will not clash with the protesters and make a problem on the ground," said a security source to Asharq Al-Awsat. "If they are convinced, so be it, if they are not the roads will remain closed."

A statement by Hezbollah and another statement by Amal denied that the motorcycle parade was endorsed by either movement. During a meeting between the two movements, a statement was made supporting the "sincere" protests of the Lebanese people, but urging the government to adopt the reforms suggested by Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri.

Amal officials demanded that their supporters stop any movement in the capital, according to Al-Akhbar.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanon presidency announces new cabinet line-up after months of impasse

2019-02-01

[PRESSTV] Leb's presidency has announced the formation of a new national unity government, putting an end to a nine-month stalemate on the political stage, which fueled the Arab country's economic woes.

The new cabinet was unveiled Thursday during a presser at the presidential palace in the capital, Beirut, after rival political factions managed to hammer out their differences over the government line-up.

The new government -- headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri

Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too.
-- includes 30 ministers from most Lebanese political factions, which have been in talks after the country held in May 2018 its first parliamentary elections in nine years.

According to a statement by Leb's presidency, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil from Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
sock puppet...
's Amal party, and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who leads President

Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
's Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
, have retained their positions in the new cabinet.

Leb's Hezbollah resistance movement has chosen Jamil Jabak as the new health minister, despite the fact that he is not a member of the movement.

'GOVT. WORK CAN NO LONGER WAIT'

Speaking following the announcement, Hariri voiced alarm about the country's economic and financial challenges, saying the time for dealing with problems with "painkillers" is over.

"The time of treatment with painkillers is over. No one can put their head in the sand anymore. Matters are as clear as the sun. All the problems are known and the causes of the corruption and waste and administrative deficiency are also known," the prime minister said.

"Lebanese are living in concern about the economic situation," Hariri said, adding that the government's work could not wait.

Since the May 2015 election, the last Hariri government, which has been appointed in 2016, has been in office in a caretaker capacity.

That election saw Hariri lose over a third of his MPs; however, but kept his status as the leading Sunni Moslem, which enabled him to return as prime minister, a position reserved for his sect under Lebanese law.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah's Latest Muscle-Flexing Sign Of Stress, Not Strength

2012-11-03

[Times of Israel] The recent flurry of activity from Hezbollah is a sign of stress, not strength, and Israel should be all the more wary

Hezbollah has been flexing its muscles of late, sending a drone into Israel and establishing a surveillance and telecommunication system along the border. But both of these deeds should be seen as acts of distress rather than signs of strength.

For the Shiite organization, the situation today, with Sunni Islam ascendant and Bashir al-Assad stripped of legitimacy and losing power, is reminiscent of the period in the run-up to the 2006 Second Leb War, when Hezbollah was desperate for an achievement in the aftermath of the Cedar Revolution of early 2005.

The revolution broke out immediately after the Lebanese Sunni Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was murdered in February 2005, and it left Hezbollah on the ropes. A UN investigation into the murder had been launched, and would later indict four senior Hezbollah operatives for the liquidation. Syrian troops, the longstanding backers of Hezbollah, had been ousted from Leb after 29 years of occupation. And a growing chorus of voices was calling for the disarming of the world's most powerful militia. Druze, Christians and Sunni Mohammedans all reasoned that with both Israel and Syria gone from Lebanese soil there was no need for the existence of a private Shiite army in the south of the state. Even some of the Shiite population was drifting toward the rival Amal party.

Hezbollah is a sophisticated entity. It operates on many levels. But one ploy that always seems to work is to goad Israel into a confrontation.

On November 22, 2005, Hezbollah sent several elite squads into Mghar, a village that lies partially in Israel and partially in Leb. The forward squads carried anti-tank rockets and other infantry gear. The rear squad was armed with high-powered off-road cycle of violences and ATVs. The goal of the mission was to ambush Israeli troops and kidnap a soldier.

The head of army intelligence at the time, Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, contacted the OC Northern Command the day before the attack and warned him of the brewing plans, according to Ofer Shelah and Yoav Limor's 2007 book "Captives of Leb." Perhaps word was passed down. At any rate, the local Paratroops company commander changed the positioning of his troops the next night, and when the Hezbollah gunnies arrived, a young sniper, only eight months into his army service, picked off the four members of the forward squad and thwarted the plan.

Zeevi-Farkash was not complacent, however. He wrote to then prime minister Ariel Sharon, that the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, "is willing to go all the way."

The prevailing notion in military intelligence at the time, Shelah and Limor wrote, was that Hezbollah was "under duress" and that it needed to portray itself once again as the defender of Leb.

But that December, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, the Chief of the General Staff, dismissed this notion during a General Staff meeting, much to Zeevi-Farkash's chagrin, the authors wrote.

And the following July, apparently far better prepared, Hezbollah achieved its goal -- killing eight soldiers and kidnapping two more, Eldad Regev and Udi Goldwasser, who subsequently died, in a cross-border raid.

Israel had many options.

Prime minister Ehud Olmert could have responded with a limited but painful strike, such as the one the IAF carried out on the first night of the war, when, as part of Operation Mishgal Seguli, it eliminated the majority of Hezbollah's medium- and long-range rockets. Instead, on the morning of July 13, Halutz announced that the war would take "take weeks."

Here is not the space to debate the outcome of the war. But one thing is certain: in its wake Hezbollah's political power rose within Leb. In 2008, as a result of the Doha Agreement, it achieved an effective veto in Leb's government, controlling 11 out of 30 cabinet seats.

Today, again, Hezbollah is feeling discontent swirling all around it. Egypt and Turkey are controlled by religious Sunni governments; Jordan may be moving in the same direction; Syria is assuredly being wrested from Allawite hands and will likely be dominated by some sort of Sunni-led coalition; and in Leb the Sunni minority is feeling energized and itching to settle past scores.

Jerusalem would do well to consider these factors if, after the drone and the new surveillance equipment, Hezbollah's next act is more provocative.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hariri launches 2nd bid to form Lebanon govt

2009-09-25

[Al Arabiya Latest] Lebanon's prime minister-designate Saad Hariri on Thursday launched talks with the country's various political parties in his second bid to form a government since a June election.

Hariri, 39, began his consultations by meeting with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, whose Amal party is in the opposition.

He was then to hold a series of talks until next Tuesday with members of the various other parties, including the militant group Hezbollah which heads the opposition bloc supported by Syria and Iran.

Hariri abandoned his first bid to form a national unity cabinet after failing to secure backing for a proposed line-up from political opponents, who are insisting on having a say as to who should head each ministry.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah denies firing Katyusha into north Israel

2009-02-22

Hezbollah on Saturday denied having fired a rocket from Lebanon that hit northern Israel earlier in the day, lightly wounding two people.
"Wudn't us."
Ibrahim Mussawi, a spokesman for the militant organization, told AFP that Hezbollah had "nothing to do" with the attack, which was launched from a region largely controlled by Hezbollah and its Amal party ally.
"It wuz... ummm... somebody else."
Three other people were treated for shock after the attack, and a house was damaged, the Israel Defense Forces said.

During the IDF's punishing offensive against Hamas in Gaza last month, three Katyusha rockets were fired into northern Israel within a week, hitting Nahariya and Kiryat Shmona. Hezbollah, which has a large rocket arsenal, was behind the two rocket attacks. In both cases, the organization used proxy Palestinian militant groups to launch the rockets from southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, a Lebanese security source in Beirut said Israel had responded by firing at least six artillery shells into southern Lebanon. The IDF Spokesperson's Office later said Israel held the Lebanese government and the Lebanese army accountable.

The rocket exploded a few meters from a house, where a 20-year-old was lightly wounded in her sleep. "Shattered glass was scattered all over the house," her father said. "Not a single window pane remained intact." The leader of the local council said that the incident came "out of the blue." Because of the stormy weather, he said, some people thought that the explosion was a thunder.

The Lebanese source, asking not to be identified, said: "Two rockets were fired from the area of Mansouri, south of Tyre, towards the direction of Israel. One of these rockets landed [within Lebanese territory]. The other rocket's location has not been determined," said the source. No one claimed responsibility for the rocket firing.

A statement from Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's office said Lebanon was committed to implementing UN Security Council resolution 1701 which ended a month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in 2006. He said the attack threatened the area's stability and condemned Israel's artillery fire. "Prime Minister Siniora [said] the rockets launched from the south threaten security and stability in this region and are a violation of resolution 1701, and these issues are rejected, condemned and denounced... Israeli artillery [fire is an] inexcusable violation of Lebanese sovereignty," the statement said.

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