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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hajj Hassan asks about achievements of ''politics and diplomacy''

2025-05-23

[NAHARNET] MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of Hezbollah on Thursday lamented that Israel carried out several deadly attacks in south Leb ...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. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... on Wednesday while ''the world and the five-member committee are standing idly by and while the Lebanese state has not done anything until the moment.'' ''Despite a lot of complaints, statements and diplomacy, the enemy is pressing on with its attacks, aggression, killing and destruction, and accordingly we ask the Lebanese state and its officials: where is diplomacy, where is the five-member committee and where are the sponsors of the ceasefire agreement in regard to the daily Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory,'' Hajj Hassan asked. Addressing Arab leaders, the MP added: ''What are you doing in the face of what Israel is committing in the West Bank, the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, the 1948 territories, Syria, Lebanon and other places? — What has diplomacy done for the Gaza's people, children and women? Accordingly those who criticize the resistance project must tell us what politics and diplomacy have offered.''

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

A Closer Look at the Senior Hezbollah Commanders Killed in Syria

2016-07-19

[Haaretz] Here is a look at senior Hezbollah figures killed in Syria: 2016 -- Mustafa Badreddine, Hezbollah's top military commander, was killed in a blast in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Hezbollah, which announced his death on May 13, says he was killed by rebel shelling near Damascus. -- Ali Fayyadh, better known as Abu Alaa Bosna, who led some of Hezbollah's military operations in Leb, Syria, Iraq and Bosnia, was killed in February during battles with ISIS near the town of Khanaser in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo. 2015 -- Samir Kantar, who spent 30 years in an Israeli prison for the 1979 killing of an Israeli man, his daughter and a policeman, was killed in December along with eight others in a suspected Israeli Arclight airstrike on a residential building in Jaramana, a Damascus suburb. -- Hassan Hussein al-Haj, a top Hezbollah commander, was killed in October while fighting Al-Qaeda-linked turbans in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib. A week later, his replacement, Mahdi Hassan Obeid, was killed during fighting in the same province. -- Jihad Mughniyeh, killed by an Israeli Arclight airstrike in southern Syria along with five other Hezbollah fighters in January. Mughniyeh, the son of slain Hezbollah military chief Imad Mughniyeh, was apparently in charge of operations in the Golan Heights. Mughniyeh senior, who was one of the world's most elusive bad boys, was killed in February 2008 when a bomb planted in his car went kaboom! in Damascus. Hezbollah blamed his killing on Israel.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Veteran Hizbullah Commander Killed in Aleppo Province

2016-06-07

[An Nahar] Veteran 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... military commander Al-Sayyed Khalil Ali al-Sayyed Hassan has been killed in festivities in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, media reports said on Monday. The pro-Hizbullah South Leb news portal confirmed the reports, describing al-Sayyed Hassan as a "martyr leader" who hailed from the southern town of Aitaroun. He was killed "performing his sacred jihadi duty in the confrontation against the mercenaries of blasphemy and Wahhabism," the website added, saying he will be laid to rest in his hometown on Tuesday afternoon. Media reports said the slain commander belonged to Hizbullah's first generation of operatives. "He had been a field commander in Aleppo since Hizbullah began its participation in the battles in Aleppo's countryside, where he shuttled among several fronts," the reports said. "Al-Sayyed Khalil took part in landmark Hizbullah operations against the Israeli occupation of south Leb," the reports added. Since Hizbullah joined Syria's conflict in 2012 to support Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... 's regime, it has lost several prominent members in combat. More than 1,000 of its foot soldiers have been killed in the Syria war, which began in 2011, compared to the 1,276 fighters killed during its 18-year guerrilla war with Israeli forces that occupied southern Leb until 2000. Last month, Hizbullah said its top military commander Mustafa Badreddine was killed by artillery shelling carried out by "takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... groups" near the Syrian capital Damascus. Ali Fayyad, better known as Abu Alaa Bosna, who led some of Hizbullah's military operations in Leb, Syria, Iraq and Bosnia was killed in February during battles with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group near the town of Khanaser in Aleppo. And Hassan Hussein al-Haj, a top Hizbullah commander, was killed in October while fighting al-Qaeda-linked fighters in the northwestern province of Idlib. A week later, his replacement, Mahdi Hassan Obeid, was killed during fighting in the same province. Another senior military officer, Fawzi Ayoub, a dual Lebanese-Canadian citizen who was wanted by the FBI on charges of trying to use a forged U.S. passport to enter Israel, was killed in May in Aleppo, reportedly in an ambush by Western-backed rebels.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hizbullah Buries Commander Killed in Syria

2015-12-13

Hizb'allah appears to be losing the cream of their fighters in Syria, poor dears. [AnNahar] 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... buried a leading commander in the south of the country on Monday, after he was killed "performing his jihadist duties in Syria", his party said. "The Islamic Resistance (armed wing) is celebrating a leader from its heroic, sacrificing forces, the martyr Hassan Hussein al-Hajj... who died while performing his jihadist duties in Syria," it said in an official obituary. Hizbullah has intervened in Syria on behalf of the embattled regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... , dispatching fighters and commanders to various fronts around the country. According to the South Leb local news website, which is close to Hizbullah, Hajj was "the head of Hizbullah's operations inside Idlib" in northwest Syria. He was killed in fierce festivities between Hizbullah fighters and "a takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... (extremist Sunni) group", it said. Although Hizbullah did not specify when Hajj was killed, local media said he died on Saturday. Phillip Smyth, an expert on Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq, told AFP that Hajj was a "leading command element" in Hizbullah and killed in Idlib. Hajj was buried in al-Louaizeh village. The funeral was attended by large crowds including Hizbullah officials. It was a rare move for the party, which has normally refrained from giving details on its military losses in Syria. Hizbullah's obituary said Hajj had led "some of the most famous special operations" against Israeli forces.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Local Leaders Deplore Hermel Blast

2014-02-23

[An Nahar] Several local leaders and politicians on Saturday were quick to condemn the latest kaboom in the Bekaa town of Hermel, soon after a suicide kaboom claimed the life of several troops and civilians at an army checkpoint in al-Assi bridge area in the village. Prime Minister Tammam Salam deplored the "terrorist" attacks, considering that targeting the military institution is an act against a cornerstone in the country. "We call on Lebanese to unite against terrorism in all its forms and to block the road in front of plans that aim at harming Leb, its institutions and its people," Salam said in a released statement. "The army and the security forces were and will always be the protectors of the country." He offered his condolences to the military institution and to Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji, adding that Saturday's "deaders are a symbol of Leb's pride, prestige and illusory sovereignty." Former PM 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. also contacted Qahwaji to offer his condolences over the death of several troops in the blast. "We announce our full solidarity with the military institution and security forces in their mission to preserve stability and security in the country," Hariri said in a released statement. Ex-premier Najib Miqati "strongly deplored" the attack, lamenting that the army always "pays the price in Leb." Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, there was only one thought in the mouse's mind: I can do this! I can do this! Then the trap sprung... Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan considered that despite the prevailing consensual atmosphere and the agreement reached on facing terrorism following the cabinet's formation, several "justifications were made following the Bir Hassan kabooms (in southern Beirut) for political reasons and gains." "If there is in fact an agreement on fighting terrorism, terrorists' acts should not be justified," he stated. The 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... minister said there are "political, geographical and ideological spheres that embrace terrorism." "Terrorists should know that they have no place among us," he said, calling for fighting all forms of terrorism. AMAL Movement stated that Saturday's blast comes as the army has exposed terrorist and criminal schemes targeting different regions in the country. "The terrorist war has become exposed and uncovered in Leb," a statement released by the party said. It added: "National duty calls on everyone, especially the cabinet, to stand beside the military institution and support it with all means because it is the shield protecting Leb from ongoing terrorist plans." Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi condemned "the Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... terrorism that is killing innocents and inciting sedition in the country." He also noted that the ministerial committee tasked with drafting the new cabinet's policy statement agreed on giving "an utmost attention to combating terrorism." Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy's udder had begun to ache... Minister of Culture Roni Araiji expressed that "an attack against the military institution is an attack on Leb and an attempt to harm the country and its civilized character." "The army was and will always be the shield against terrorism and terrorists," he said.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanese Officials Condemn Dahiyeh Attack, Vow to Confront Terrorism

2014-02-20

[An Nahar] Lebanese officials strongly denounced on Wednesday the double suicide kaboom that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs, which killed at least four people and injured 100 others and was claimed by al-Qaeda affiliated Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... condemned the attack, saying: "There can be no salvation from terrorism except through complete solidarity among the people regardless of their political affiliations." "Terrorism does not differentiate between regions and religions, but it only seeks death and destruction," he added. Earlier the president had contacted Iranian Ambassador to Leb Ghazanfar Rokn-Abadi to offer his condolences over the bombing that took place near the Iranian Cultural Center. He also contacted Interior Minister Nuhad Mashnouq and Kuwaiti Ambassador to Leb Abdul Aal al-Qinai. Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... meanwhile urged the "greatest level of vigilance and caution" in confronting the series of bombings that have targeted Leb. Prime Minister Tammam Salam slammed the twin kabooms, considering them a "message by the terrorist groups to continue its plot in spreading absurd deaths in Leb." "Amid the positive political stances... Terrorism once again hit Leb by bombing a safe neighborhood in a message that reflects the insistence of the evil powers to harm Leb and the Lebanese and to create sedition." He noted that the Lebanese will "respond to it with more unity, solidarity, by holding on to our civil peace and supporting our army and security forces." Bir Hassan is surrounded by neighborhood that are strongholds of the Hizbullah and have been targeted in multiple kabooms killing civilians. Leb has been rocked by a string of car and suicide kabooms in recent months, many targeting strongholds of Hizbullah in apparent retribution for its role in Syria. The group has admitted sending fighters to the neighboring country to battle alongside Syria's Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... against an uprising. For his part, Hizbullah's Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan called on the Lebanese to tighten their grip on national stances and to confront terrorism. Interior Minister Mashnouq said from the blast scene that the kaboom targets all the Lebanese people and the government will take the necessary measures to tackle the situation. "The cabinet will take all the necessary measure to end the phenomena of suicide attacks," Mashnouq added. Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil stressed that "terrorism is targeting all the Lebanese. We must put an end to it." Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi said that the suicide kabooms that targeted the area aims at destabilizing Leb, stressing that security should be a priority. He called on the Lebanese people to be aware of the dangerous stage the country is passing through and to unite in order to confront terrorism. Head of the Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... MP Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... said via twitter that "gunnies were bothered by the formation of the cabinet after they became convinced that it would fight them." Al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... Movement Chief 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. said that "if the aim behind the attack is to inform the Lebanese that their country isn't immune to terrorism despite the formation of the cabinet then we will hold on to our unity today more than ever." "We condemn the attacks with the strongest rhetoric," Hariri said in a statement, calling on security forces to pursue the culprits. He urged the Lebanese for more solidarity and to allow the cabinet to carry out its responsibilities during this delicate situation. Hariri reiterated calls on the Lebanese to dissociate itself from the conflict in Syria and on Hizbullah to withdraw its fighters from the ongoing war in the neighboring country and to abide by the Baabda Declaration. Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... later condemned in a statement the Bir Hassan bombing, calling for Hizbullah to withdraw its fighters from Syria. "We had previously predicted that the situation in Leb will not change with the formation of a new government," he added. "The situation will change when the policies of previous governments are altered," he explained. He demanded that the border between Leb and Syria be controlled in order to thwart the flow gunnies, offering his condolences to the victims of the blast. Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani ... Grand Mufti of Lebanon and the most prominent Sunni Muslim cleric in the country. An assassination attempt against Qabbani was foiled by Leb internal security forces in 2009 as part of the Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Beirut. In an interview broadcast in 2012, Qabbani stated that Jews were behind secularism, because they opposed the authority of the church, against Christianity. He also suggested that the attacks of September 11, 2001 were orchestrated by Jews in order to justify the persecution of Muslims worldwide. Qabbani is against the legalization of civil marriage in Lebanon. He has issued a fatwa declaring any Muslim politician who approves civil marriage legislation an apostate. Surprisingly, he is not considered very much of a nut by Moslem standards. also denounced the attack, calling on Salam's cabinet to "swiftly control the situation in Leb and reduce tension and all forms of incitement to confront the upcoming stage as a one hand. Head of the Phalange Party The Kataeb (Phalange) party was founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936, who modeled the party after Spanish and Italian Fascist parties he had observed as an Olympic athlete during the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, then Nazi Germany. The movement's uniforms originally included brown shirts and members used the Nazi salute. Despite the party's uniform, its strong sense of nationalism and dedication to a single charismatic leader, the Lebanese Kataeb was not and never became a fascist party nor did it espouse a totalitarian ideology. Amin Gemayel said: "The Bir Hassan bombing is a bloody message aimed at terrorizing the new cabinet that is an embodiment of national will." "The best way to respond to the bombings lies in activating government work and seizing control of the security situation," he added.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

FSA Promises Hizbullah 'Severe Retaliation' over 'Interference in Syrian Affairs'

2012-10-04

[An Nahar] The rebel Free Syrian Army on Wednesday warned Hizbullah of a "severe and earthshaking retaliation," after the Syrian opposition said Tuesday that a Hizbullah commander and several fighters were killed inside Syria. "We promise the Hizbullah members who are deployed in Syria that they will face a severe and earthshaking retaliation over their interference in the Syrian affairs and aiding the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... to kill the Syrian people," the Joint Command of the Free Syrian Army in Syria said in a statement. In the statement, the FSA also promised Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... "surprises that will deprive him of sleep." "We announce to the great Syrian people the news of the death of the criminal Mohammed Hussein al-Hajj Nassif 'Shamas', aka Abou Abbas, the organizational leader of the operations of the terrorist Hizbullah militia in the Syrian interior," added the statement. "The criminal Abou Abbas was killed in the city of Qusayr in the countryside of the city of Homs, while several companions were maimed after they were lured into an ambush," the statement went on to say. The rebels vowed that they "will not have mercy on anyone who directly or indirectly contributes to the killing or oppression of our revolutionary, steadfast people, whether they belong to Assad's gangs and Shabiha or to Iran's militias -- the Revolutionary Guard, Hizbullah, the Mahdi Army and others." "We call on our Lebanese brothers -- who belong to a certain religious community and who have strayed and believed the lies of the devil, Khamenei's agent in Leb -- to return to the path of right before it's too late and not to let your siblings become the fuel of a war you are not part of," the FSA added. "Do not deprive yourselves of the lung you are breathing through and of your only land route in the region," the FSA went on to say, addressing Hizbullah's supporters. A Hizbullah commander and several fighters have been killed inside Syria, a Lebanese security official told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Tuesday. Hizbullah has stood by Syrian President Bashir al-Assad since the uprising began 18 months ago, even after the group supported revolts in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain. The group says it is backing the Syrian regime because of its support for the anti-Israel resistance movements in Leb and Paleostine and because it is willing to implement political reforms. Assad's fall would be a dire scenario for Hizbullah. Any new regime led by Syria's majority Sunni Mohammedans would likely be far less friendly -- or even outright hostile -- to Shiite Mohammedan Hizbullah. Iran remains the group's most important patron, but Syria is a crucial supply route. Without it, Hizbullah will struggle to get money and weapons as easily. The Syrian uprising has left Assad deeply isolated -- making his remaining allies such as Iran and Russia all the more important. At last week's gathering of world leaders at the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... , dozens of nations excoriated the Assad regime for its role in a conflict that activists estimate has killed at least 30,000 Syrians. It was not immediately clear how the alleged Hizbullah faceless myrmidons were killed or whether they had been fighting alongside the Syrian army. But Hizbullah's newspaper al-Intiqad said Hizbullah commander Ali Hussein Nassif, who is also known as Abu Abbas, was killed "while performing his jihadi duties." It did not say when or where he was killed. A Lebanese security official told AP Nassif was killed in Syria and his body was returned to Leb through the Masnaa border crossing on Sunday. Speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, the official said the bodies of several other Hizbullah fighters have been brought back to Leb in recent days. Hizbullah front man Ibrahim al-Moussawi on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of the Hizbullah members but said he had no further information on where or how Nassif was killed. He declined further comment. The Syrian opposition has long accused the group of helping the Syrian leadership crack down on the uprising -- a claim the group has repeatedly denied. Nassif's funeral, which was held in the eastern town of Budai, near Baalbek, was attended by top Hizbullah officials including the head of the Sharia council and the political bureau, an indication of Nassif's high prestige, according to AP. On Tuesday, Hizbullah's al-Manar TV showed the funerals of at least two other Hizbullah members it said were killed while performing their "jihadi duty." Both funerals were attended by Hizbullah officials and commanders. The coffins of the dead were draped with Hizbullah's yellow flags and carried by faceless myrmidons in black uniforms and red berets. Hundreds of people marched in the funeral. Samer al-Homsi, an activist in Syria's central Homs province, which borders Leb, said Nassif was killed Saturday when a roadside kaboom went off as the car he was in passed just outside the town of Qusayr. He said Nassif and several other people were killed in the blast. "His job was to coordinate with Syrian security agencies," al-Homsi told AP via Skype. He added that the rebels detonated the bomb "without knowing" that the target was a Hizbullah official. "We knew he was a Hizbullah official after it was announced by the group in Leb," he said. Al-Homsi's account could not be independently verified.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

'Hezbollah's Madoff' brings serious financial losses to top members

2009-09-09

More on the story posted here yesterday. Hamas may have to accept a smaller budget for terror operations going forward as a result. edit: My apologies -- I meant Hizb'allah, of course. [Haaretz] At least four senior members of Hezbollah suffered serious financial losses as the result of embezzlement by the Lebanese Shi'ite businessman Salah Ezzedine, according to the London-based newspaper Asharq Al Awsat. Ezzedine, who has been dubbed "Hezbollah's Madoff," is suspected of embezzling more than one billion dollars. The four were identified as Mohammad Raad, head of the Hezbollah faction in the Lebanese parliament, Hezbollah MPs Amin Shari and Hussein al-Hajj, and Wafiq Safa, head of the organization's coordinating committee. Safa was the person who handed over the bodies of missing Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Udi Goldwasser, to the United Nations, during a 2008 prisoner swap between Hezbollah and Israel. At the time, he stood in front of the Al-Manar television cameras and declared: "You will know immediately what their fate was," as he pointed to the coffins containing the remains. According to assessments in the Arab media and the news agencies, Ezzedine succeeded in defrauding hundreds of investors out of sums totaling between $600 million and $1.3 billion. He was arrested at the beginning of last week after persuading a large number of investors - including businessmen from Qatar and the Gulf states and thousands of villagers from southern Lebanon - to transfer sums of money to him, which he promised to invest with returns of 25-55 percent. After he declared bankruptcy, Ezzedine turned himself over to the Lebanese authorities. Ezzedine, who was well known as an investor mainly among Lebanon's Shi'ite community, is suspected of having used the money as part of a "Ponzi scheme" in which he transferred the sums invested by new investors to the accounts of more veteran investors, in much the same way as Bernard Madoff did in the United States. It is believed that Ezzedine's family has escaped from Lebanon. Lebanese reports say that Ezzedine and his associates are being interrogated at present but that no formal charges have yet been brought against them. The Kuwaiti newspaper Al Watan reported last week that Hezbollah's losses in the affair are estimated at some $680 million, a gigantic sum for the organization, most of whose budget comes from Iran. In the past decade, Hezbollah has succeeded in developing economic systems, including drug and real estate deals that brought in good returns. Ezzedine is the owner of the Dar Al-Hadi publishing company, one of Lebanon's leading publishers of Shi'ite religious texts. It also publishes the writings of Hezbollah officials and has shares in the children's "Al-Hadi" television channel. A Lebanese court on Thursday ordered the closure of the publishing house and all 250 workers lost their jobs suddenly. Ezzedine was also involved in arranging trips to Mecca. Ezzedine's money was invested in iron and energy companies and he lost a fortune when the price of oil plummeted. "Everyone invested with him, everyone," said the owner of a grocery store, Muhammed Shur, in an interview with Al-Jazeera Television. "He was supposed to be a religious man and gave a lot of money to charity." He said he had placed his family's entire savings, $45,000, in Ezzedine's hands. "You can go through this village one by one," he added. "Some of the people even mortgaged their homes to invest with him."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Abu Ponzi al Lebanon

2009-09-08

At least four senior members of Hezbollah suffered serious financial losses as the result of embezzlement by the Lebanese Shi'ite businessman Salah Ezzedine, according to the London-based newspaper Asharq Al Awsat. Ezzedine, who has been dubbed "Hezbollah's Madoff," is suspected of embezzling more than one billion dollars. The four were identified as Mohammad Raad, head of the Hezbollah faction in the Lebanese parliament, Hezbollah MPs Amin Shari and Hussein al-Hajj, and Wafiq Safa, head of the organization's coordinating committee. According to assessments in the Arab media and the news agencies, Ezzedine succeeded in defrauding hundreds of investors out of sums totaling between $600 million and $1.3 billion. today Hezbollah, in the person of Hassan Nassrallah, issued a denial that any money was lost "Lies! All lies!"

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah MP urges US envoy's expulsion

2008-05-07

In reaction to Walid Jumblatt's call for the ouster of Iran's envoy, Hezbollah MP al-Haj has called for the expulsion of the US envoy. The Hezbollah MP, Hussein al-Haj, said that the Progressive Socialist Party leader, Walid Jumblatt, has aimed his arrow at Iran, calling for the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon; but it is the envoy whose country supplies Israel with weapons to kill and displace Palestinians that should be expelled from Lebanon. Jumblatt's actions are not to the benefit of Lebanon; it only favors the Israelis and impedes the emergence of a Lebanese consensus over the establishment of a national unity government and the passing of a new election law, PRESS TV's Beirut correspondent quoted al-Hajj as saying. The Hezbollah representative in the Lebanese parliament slammed his country's ruling party, saying that the existing illegal government aims to weaken the labor unions and trample on the rights of workers. Since the commencement of his term as prime minister, Fuad Siniora's government has done nothing of any value, he stated, adding that it has only burdened the country with a back-breaking external debt to the tune of billions of dollars. Addressing the Progressive Socialist Party leader, al-Haj noted that what the party's leader has said actually is a result of Lebanon's inequitable election law, adding, "We are not responsible for your sins."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Attack on Hezbollah MP in Lebanon

2008-03-17

Two rocket-propelled grenades have been fired at a memorial ceremony in Lebanon attended by an outspoken Hezbollah lawmaker. The incident occurred when Hezbollah MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan was addressing the event in Minya, north of the city of Tripoli on Saturday, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the abduction of the activist, Yehya Skaff, who was reportedly jailed by Israel. The ceremony continued despite the rockets and no casualties were reported, a security official told AFP. Minya is considered a stronghold of supporters of Lebanon's Western-backed government which is struggling with a political crisis. More, from Ya Libnan Two rockets were fired over a Hezbollah ceremony in this northern Lebanon village but no casualties were reported. Attack, intimidation, or glorified gun sex? The ceremony was in honor of Yehia Skaff, a member of Hezbollah militants who was abducted 30 years ago by Israel and is in Israeli jails. MP Hussein al-Haj Hassan a member of Hezbollah was addressing the event in Mennieh. The security source said the rockets were fired before and at the end of the ceremony , but could not determine where they were fired from The Lebanese security authorities are at the scene and are not taking any chances, because the organizers were threatened earlier with attack if Hezbollah will be present at the ceremony Mennieh is a stronghold of parliament majority leader MP Saad Hariri . He said during a rally in 2005 " Martyr Prime Minister had special bonds with Mennieh. He used to say: Mennieh should be proud to be the home of the first Lebanese detainee in the prisons of the Israeli enemy Yehia Skaff."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanon's opposition threatens to boycott presidential vote

2007-12-24

Lebanon's Syria-backed opposition threatened Sunday to boycott next week's parliament session to elect a new president unless the ruling coalition agrees to the shape of a future government ahead of the vote. The threat is likely to scuttle the presidential vote for the 11th time because the Western-backed majority has rejected the opposition's conditions, saying the shape of the next government could be discussed only after the presidential vote. Kind of the point, isn't it? The opposition will participate in the presidential vote, now scheduled for Dec. 29, "only in the framework of a clear and integrated political agreement as part of a full package with clear guarantees," said Hussein al-Haj Hassan a legislator from the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which leads the opposition. Absent this agreement, "the opposition will not go to the voting session next Saturday and will not facilitate the election process," said Hassan in the statement. The post has been empty since pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ended Nov. 23, plunging the country into the worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. Lawmakers on both sides have agreed to back army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as a compromise candidate, but parliament must first amend the constitution to allow a sitting military chief to become president. This process has been complicated by the opposition's demand for a new unity government that would give it veto power over major decisions, which the ruling coalition has rejected. "The political process is inter-linked. The presidency, the government and other issues cannot be separated from each other," said Hassan Fadlallah, another Hezbollah lawmaker. The ruling coalition has accused the opposition of obstructing the presidential vote under orders from Syria and Iran, which back Hezbollah. In turn, the opposition claims pro-government groups in the parliament majority follow US policies. "The problem is not with Gen. Suleiman as a consensus candidate, but with a group (the ruling coalition) that changes its political stands according to American dictates," said Hassan. Also Sunday, opposition lawmakers lashed out at US President George W. Bush for urging the parliamentary majority to elect a president with a simple majority if necessary to resolve a long political deadlock. Lebanon's sharply divided parliament has failed ten times to elect a president because the opposition has boycotted sessions, preventing a two-thirds quorum to convene a session. The ruling coalition has avoided trying to use its slim majority in parliament to elect a president, which would escalate tensions with the opposition. Bush urged such a step for the first time Thursday. "Bush didn't enter a country where he didn't cause wars and strife," said Fadlallah, the Hezbollah legislator. "He is trying to spread his experiment to Lebanon." Opposition legislator Osama Saad agreed, saying Bush's call would plunge Lebanon into "chaos and expose it to dangers."

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