Hezbollah

[ara87]

Re: Hezbollah

Israel gets what they deserve, they're the ones who freaking empowered hezbollah in '06, even the Christians in Lebanon began to side with them

[skhara]

Re: Hezbollah

I really like that interview with NF.

Especially how he pointed out about pathetic state of Arabs.

[Federate]

Re: Hezbollah

Al Jazeera segment on how Hizballah beat Israel's Merkava tank. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7s5lnjXR5s

[Federate]

Re: Hezbollah

Actual footage of Hizballah operation that led to the 2006 Lebanon war - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W40Gd...eature=related

[Federate]

Re: Hezbollah

Saudis resurrect a rival for Hezbollah
By Sami Moubayed

DAMASCUS - Word is coming out of south Lebanon that Saudi money under United States urging is being pumped into the Shi'ite community - in vain - to create a bloc among Lebanese Shi'ites against Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The Saudis are strongly opposed to Hezbollah, claiming that it is an extension of Iranian influence in the Arab world. More recently, the Saudis have began coordinating with former vice president Abdul-Halim Khaddam to break Hezbollah's influence in Lebanon.

In testimony of just how influential Nasrallah is as secretary general of Hezbollah, the Saudis have stunningly failed - despite tremendous efforts and allegations of huge sums of money being spent - at creating a serious anti-Nasrallah team in places controlled by Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Party of speaker Nabih Berri.

This applies to places like al-Dahiya, the Hezbollah stronghold in the suburbs of Beirut, and cities like Baalbak. That is why they have shifted their attention recently to other districts with "Shi'ite pockets" where Hezbollah does not completely reign, like Nab'a, and certain villages in south Lebanon.

Coinciding with this story and probably related to it, are unconfirmed reports saying that Michael Hayden, the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, went to Beirut for a secret mission, probably aimed at working towards crushing - or at least disarming - Hezbollah.

That coincided with another high-profile visit by US Under Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman to Beirut, where he met Prime Minister Fouad al-Siniora, signing an agreement to grant automatic grenade launchers to the Lebanese army. The visit - Edelman's fourth in one year - raised eyebrows among members of the Hezbollah-led opposition, who were welcoming Michel Aoun, Hezbollah's main Christian ally, who was returning from a five-day visit to Iran.

The Americans are trying - again - to implement United Nations Security Council resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, through strengthening "US-Lebanon bilateral defense" relations. Since 2006, the US has committed more than $410 million in military assistance to Lebanon - hoping that these weapons can be used to counterbalance the military might of Hezbollah.

The Saudis and Subhi Tufayli
The Saudis, however, are reportedly funding a rival wing of Hezbollah itself, modeled around Sheikh Subhi Tufayli, one of the party's original founders who has been sitting in the dark since the 1990s.

Tufayli started out as a firm supporter of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, having studied Islam in Najaf (Iraq) during Khomeini's long exile in the holy Iraqi city, before the Islamic revolution of 1979. He returned to Lebanon and helped co-found Hezbollah - with Iranian support - during the Israeli invasion of 1982.

The party broke from Amal, disgruntled at the party's increased secularization and its political rather than military approach, vis-a-vis the Israeli occupation. Men like Tufayli, Abbas Musawi and Nasrallah wanted action, and immediately clashed with Amal and its veteran leader (and now ally) Nabih Berri.

Under Tufayli's leadership, Hezbollah managed to drive Amal from Beirut during the height of the Lebanese civil war in the late 1980s. Under his command rose the young Nasrallah in 1989, leading a commando force against Amal in Iqlim al-Tuffah, and becoming a member of the central command of Hezbollah at the young age of 29.

Tufayli served as the party's spokesman from 1985 to 1989, then became secretary general from 1989 to 1991. Tufayli opposed taking part in national reconciliation talks in Taif, Saudi Arabia, and as a result was expelled (or asked to resign) from Hezbollah under the urging of then Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Nasrallah served as Hezbollah's "ambassador" to Iran in 1989-1992. During this time, Tufayli was replaced by Abbas Musawi as secretary general, who in turn was assassinated in 1992, many suspect by Israel.

Nasrallah replaced him at the job, although the party's hierarchy showed that it should have gone to Sheikh Naim Qasim. Veterans of Hezbollah - headed by Tufayli - were surprised at the change of command, considering Nasrallah as too junior politically and religiously, and too young at 31, to become the Party of God's number-one man.

A hardliner, Tufayli once said that his supporters did not dream of eradicating Israel in the near future, but plans to lead a battle that will last "for centuries". More recently, he has distanced himself from Iran for its firm support for Nasrallah, a man whom he respects but envies tremendously. He can't challenge him, beat him, or replace him as head of Hezbollah or the Lebanese Shi'ite community.

He once said that some of the current members of Hezbollah "are taking the country towards destruction under the slogan of fighting the American policies in the region. If someone wants to change the government, does it not mean leading the whole country to chaos and civil strife?"

Tufayli vetoed the "politicization" of Hezbollah, claiming that it should neither run for parliament, nor hold government office, and remain committed to what it knows best: guerrilla war with Israel.

In July 1997, he organized a "hunger strike" of his followers in Baalbak, aimed at embarrassing the pro-Hezbollah government of then-prime minister Rafik al-Hariri. He has since called his small power base the Revolution of the Hungry, similar to the "Movement of the Dispossessed" that was created by Hezbollah's godfather, Sheikh Musa Sadr.

Although the Lebanese government tried to arrest him, it has since let him live freely, keeping close tabs on his activities and making sure that he is absent from public life. In 2000, when Nasrallah liberated south Lebanon against Israel, Tufayli was believed to be politically finished, since Hezbollah was at the apex of its career and no Shi'ite with a right mind could challenge the charisma or popularity of Nasrallah.

But on several occasions he came out and spoke against Nasrallah, objecting to the latter's alliance with Iran and claiming that he broke with Hezbollah because of the overt Iranian agenda of its secretary general. Earlier, in his final act of defiance, Tufayli clashed with the Lebanese state when his followers tried to take over a party-run religious school in Baalbak.

The Lebanese army was asked to intervene, when Iranian cover was lifted off Tufayli, back when the armed forces were under command of pro-Syrian General Emille Lahhoud, who became president of the republic from 1998-2007. The army announced that it had mobilized against Tufayli "on charges of forming armed groups, endangering national security and killing soldiers and civilians".

The Lebanese government of Siniora has tried in vain to get rid of Hezbollah, but was unable to do so due to the party's power base and the repeated victories it scored against Israel since 2000. The UN could not disarm Hezbollah, nor could the United States, or Israel in its failed 2006 war on Lebanon.

According to veteran US journalist Seymour Hersh, the Americans and Saudis even worked towards creating an armed Sunni terrorist group to combat Hezbollah - in reference to Fatah al-Islam, inspired by al-Qaeda - which also ended in vain.

Now, all parties are trying to break Nasrallah's kingdom from within, through splinter Shi'ite groups loyal to people like Tufayli and through the money of dissident Syrians. Any person who has seen how popular Nasrallah was in Lebanon in 2000 or 2006 realizes how foolish it would be to try and challenge him by resurrecting figures like Subhi Tufayli.

Nasrallah is one of the most charismatic and popular figures in the Muslim world. Tufayli is a nobody. Nasrallah achieved victory for his party in 2000 and 2006, whereas Tufayli left behind a troubled - almost forgotten - legacy. Nasrallah distributes money to the poor in order to empower the Shi'ites of Lebanon.

Saudi Arabian money is going to Tufayli's pockets, not to ordinary Shi'ites. Saudi Arabia will never be respected or seen as an honest broker in the Shi'ite community because of its ties to militant Sunni groups like al-Qaeda. That is why nobody aided or financed by the Saudis will ever be accepted by Lebanese Shi'ites.

From http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JJ21Ak01.html

[Federate]

Re: Hezbollah

Iraqi website: Nasrallah survived poisoning attempt

'High-ranking diplomatic sources in Beirut' quoted as saying Israel apparently behind assassination attempt; report says Iranian physicians flown in to Beirut to save Hizbullah chief

Roee Nahmias
Published: 10.22.08, 15:35 / Israel News

An Iraqi news website on Wednesday quoted "high-ranking diplomatic sources in Beirut" as saying that Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah survived a poisoning attempt.

According to the state-affiliated website, Nasrallah survived an assassination by a highly toxic chemical just a few days ago. The report has yet to be confirmed by any official source, and Hizbullah media made no mention of the alleged attempt on the Hizbullah chief's life.

According to the Iraqi website's report, Nasrallah suffered grave effects from the poison, and a team of 15 Iranian physicians was flown to Beirut to attend him, and eventually managed to stabilize his condition.

The report quoted "western diplomatic sources" as saying that Israel was apparently behind the assassination attempt, adding that the Shiite group has launched an investigation into the incident.

The origin of the chemical may indicate who was behind the assassination attempt, according to the report.

A senior Hizbullah figure called the report a "fabrication", saying "I haven’t seen Nasrallah in a week, but I know he is in good health."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3611640,00.html

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'Nasrallah survives poisoning attempt'

Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah was poisoned last week and his life was saved by 15 Iranian doctors who flew to Lebanon to treat him, the Iraqi Web site Almalaf reported Wednesday, quoting Lebanese diplomatic sources.

The sources were quoted as saying that an extremely poisonous chemical substance was used against the Hizbullah leader.

Nasrallah was reportedly in critical condition for several days, until the Iranian doctors arrived and saved his life. The Hizbullah chief is still feeing unwell, according to the report.

The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the Almalaf report.

The Web site, which is close to the Iraqi regime, claimed that the sources believed it was very likely that the poisoning was an Israeli assassination attempt.

The Iranian doctors arrived in Beirut on Sunday at 11 p.m., reportedly on a special military flight.

Officials even considered flying Nasrallah to Iran for further treatment, the Web site claimed.

Sources close to Nasrallah denied the report and said that although they hadn't seen the Hizbullah leader in more than a week, he was perfectly fine.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017595194&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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Hizbullah Secy Gen survives assassination bid: Report
Jerusalem, Oct 22: Hizbullah Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, has survived an assassination attempt, allegedly plotted by Israel, according to a media report on Wednesday.

An Iraqi news website, 'Almalaf', has quoted "high-ranking diplomatic sources in Beirut" as saying that Nasrallah survived a poisoning attempt involving a highly toxic chemical last week and was saved by a team of 15 Iranian physicians who were flown to Lebanon to attend to him.

The Iranian medical team reportedly arrived on a special military flight.

The Iraqi website was quoted by Israeli media as saying that officials considered flying the Hizbullah chief to Iran for further treatment.

A senior Hizbullah figure, however, claimed that the report was fabricated.

"This is a lie and a fabrication. It' true that I haven't seen [Nasrallah] this past week, but he's okay," Al-Hajj Hassan, a Lebanese parliament member affiliated to the groupsaid.

Israel has in the past attempted to eliminate hostile leaders by poisoning them.

In September 1997, a Mossad team tried to assassinate Hamas' political chief, Khaled Meshal, by drizzling poison in his ear. The attempt failed and two of the Mossad agents involved in the plot were captured while others found refuge in the Israeli Embassy in Amman.

http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=478150&sid=WOR

[Federate]

Re: Hezbollah

Mossad chief Meir Dagan assassinated by Hizballah?
-----------------------------------
Arab Websites report Mossad chief assassinated in Amman. Israeli sources deny

DEBKAfile Special Report

October 21, 2008, 12:34 PM (GMT+02:00)
Meir Dagan, Mossad director

DEBKAfile reports that Arab Internet sites, most of them Jordanian, claim that 10 days ago on Oct. 12, Meir Dagan, the head of Israel’s external intelligence service, the Mossad, was targeted by assassins while visiting Amman. Some describe a large bomb explosion alongside his convoy and add that Israeli and Jordanian guards with the convoy were injured. Others say Dagan himself was hurt or even killed in the attack. They claim Israel and Jordan are keeping the incident a secret.

DEBKAfile’s sources have no knowledge of any visit by Meir Dagan to the Jordanian capital.

Jordanian officials are trying hard to dismiss the incident. Without going on record, they maintain Dagan paid no recent visits to their capital and was not attacked. This has not been enough to dispel the rumors, according to one of which a hit-man or team linked to Hizballah or Iran managed to avenge the death of Hizballah military chief Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus last February.

The Arab world sees Dagan as master of the hidden Israeli hand which reached into Syria to target Mugniyeh and destroyed Syria’s plutonium reactor in September 2007.

According to another theory, Damascus is working the rumor mill to offset the unfavorable impression generated in the Arab world by its military concentrations on Lebanon’s borders.

Meir Dagan would need to make an appearance in person to dispel the rumors.

The movements of intelligence chiefs who travel in constant fear of their lives, especially in the Middle East, are strictly shrouded in secrecy.

Whether the US CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden, for instance, actually went through with a planned visit to Beirut on Oct. 16, has never been disclosed.

DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources confirm that he was indeed there. The visit was important to make sure that the new head of Lebanese military intelligence, Gen. Edmund Fadal, who traveled to Damascus directly after his appointment to meet his Syrian counterpart, Gen. Asif Shawqat, was not caught in the Syrian net. The service he heads is the staunchest pro-Western military outfit in Lebanon.

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5661

[Armenian]

Re: Hezbollah

I wasn't aware of the top two developments Federate. I wonder how valid this news is.

[Federate]

Re: Hezbollah

Hezbollah missile stock 'tripled'

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said the Lebanese Hezbollah movement now has three times as many missiles as before the 2006 Lebanon war.

Mr Barak told MPs some of its 42,000 missiles could reach the southern towns of Ashkelon, Beersheba and Dimona, more than 200km (125 miles) from the border.

Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel during the 2006 conflict, killing some 40 civilians.

More than 1,125 Lebanese, most of them civilians, died in Israeli attacks.

The 34-day war started with a border incursion by Hezbollah on 12 July 2006. Eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two others kidnapped, prompting a massive Israeli response.

Gaza truce praised

In a speech on Monday to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, Mr Barak warned that Hezbollah's military wing, the Islamic Resistance, had greatly increased its arsenal since 2006.

It now possessed missiles which could reach far into southern Israel, he said.

"Hezbollah has three times the ability it had before the second Lebanon war and now has 42,000 missiles in its possession, as opposed to the 14,000 it had before the war," he said.

"It has missiles that can reach the towns of Ashkelon, Beersheba and Dimona."

Mr Barak also said that the movement's inclusion in Lebanon's national unity government earlier this year meant that Israel might take wider action against the country's civilian infrastructure in future.

"The integration of Hezbollah into the Lebanese state exposes Lebanon and its infrastructure to in-depth attacks in the event of a new conflict," he said.

Earlier, when addressing the Knesset's foreign affairs and defence committee, Mr Barak also renewed his support for an extension of the ceasefire with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, which began on 19 June.

"I'm not sorry for any day or month of calm," he said.

"In each of the two months leading up to the truce there were 500 incidences of Qassam rocket fire and mortar shell fire, a figure which dropped to roughly 10 a month when the truce kicked in," he added.

Mr Barak also rejected calls for a major ground offensive in Gaza to overthrow the Islamist movement, Hamas, which seized control of the territory last year.

"To all the warmongers I say: You have nothing to teach me about war or peace or my duties," the former chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces said.

"I am defence minister, not war minister, and my job is to maintain as far as possible the maximum of security for Israeli citizens. In any case, if a pre-emptive operation proves necessary, the army will act."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7746615.stm

[Federate]

Re: Hezbollah

Hezbollah plot to attack Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan foiled

The London Times revealed Friday that a Hezbollah plot to attack the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan was foiled last year, after Azeri Intelligence discovered the plot.

Azeri intelligence authorities reportedly first caught wind of the plot weeks after Imad Mughniyah, Deputy Secretary General of the Lebanon-based guerilla group was killed by a car bomb in Damascus last February.

As the date of Mughniyah's assassination draws near there is growing concern that Hezbollah is planning further attacks on Israeli or xxxish targets abroad to retaliate his killing, the Times indicates. Hezbollah's 1800 Unit is said to be working on possible attacks inside Israel.

Hezbollah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said: "The Zionists will discover that the war they had in July was a walk in the park if we compare it to what we've prepared for every new aggression," says the Times.

The report also stated that the Egyptian intelligence broke up a Sinai-based Hezbollah cell headed by Sami Shehab, a Lebanese citizen. The cell, which also included Palestinians members had allegedly planned to attack Israeli targets.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1056226.html