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The sentence in Hariri's assassination will increase the pressure on Hezbollah - Walla! news

2020-08-22T15:01:09.133Z


The Iran-backed Shiite organization has effectively taken over the country since the assassination of the former prime minister 15 years ago. Although no conclusive evidence has been found to the knowledge of the leadership, the decision comes at a time when Lebanon is being dismantled by the Beirut explosion and corruption. "Hezbollah gained power, but lost state and people"


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The sentence in Hariri's assassination will increase the pressure on Hezbollah

The Iran-backed Shiite organization has effectively taken over the country since the assassination of the former prime minister 15 years ago. Although no conclusive evidence has been found to the knowledge of the leadership, the decision comes at a time when Lebanon is being dismantled by the Beirut explosion and corruption. "Hezbollah gained power, but lost state and people"

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  • Hezbollah
  • Lebanon
  • Rafik al-Hariri
  • Hassan Nasrallah

Reuters

Saturday, 22 August 2020, 11:31 Updated: 17:51

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    In the video: The sentence in the trial of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister al-Hariri (Photo: Reuters, edited by Nir Chen)

    Fifteen years after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, Hezbollah has become the most powerful force in the country. However, this force is now falling at the feet of the organization, as Lebanon experiences a series of devastating crises.

    On Tuesday, a special tribunal convicted a member of the Iran-backed Shiite organization in planning the attack in which al-Hariri was killed in 2005, while three other Hezbollah members were acquitted. The sentence was handed down while the Lebanese economy was shattered.

    Its institutions, from the security services to the presidency, where a Hezbollah ally serves, are collapsing, and citizens are struggling to cope with the aftermath of the massive explosion that rocked central Beirut earlier this month. In addition, there is no functioning government and there is a re-emergence of the corona virus.

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    "Hezbollah has lost the people." Security forces near al-Hariri sign in Sidon (Photo: Reuters)

    Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah denies that his organization controls the government or has a majority that would allow him to do so. However, a political source who is involved with mood among Hezbollah's Christian ally, said that the organization loses its grip.

    "After attained majority (

    Hezbollah is under increasing criticism for failing to implement the reforms it has promised since the 2018 elections . Hezbollah is under increasing criticism but has lost control of the country but lost the country and the people. " , Established with the support of Hezbollah and its supporters after the previous administration of Saad al-Hariri, Rafik's son, was overthrown following a popular protest in October - resigned after the Beirut bombing on August 4. It tried to formulate an aid package with the International Monetary Fund, but was stopped by those mediators. Who set it up.

    "Hezbollah's anti-corruption campaign has become a joke." Nasrallah sign in Lebanon (Photo: Reuters)

    "There are so many internal problems other than an explosion at the port," said Magnus Ranstorp, a Hezbollah expert. "The state is falling apart in their hands."

    Fawaz Georges, a Middle East expert at the London School of Economics, added: "This is one of the biggest challenges Lebanon has experienced since its independence in 1943 with a string of crises facing Lebanon and Hezbollah." He said the tribunal's decision to assassinate al-Hariri "could serve as a trigger. The state, which is divided anyway, will be further polarized along ethnic lines and not along political and ideological lines."

    The West says there will be no economic aid to Lebanon without comprehensive reforms in the corrupt system.

    Mohand Haga Ali, a colleague at the Carnegie Center for the Middle East, said Hezbollah had "miserably" failed in securing its election to fight corruption. "They just did nothing about that promise. In practice, their anti-corruption campaign has become a popular joke now." He added that like the rest of the country's political forces, "Hezbollah has never been in a weaker position than it is today."

    Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri responds to the sentence in his father's murder (Photo: Reuters)

    The Shiite organization, which led the Iranian campaign in the civil war in Syria and the region, is also facing public outrage over the explosion in the port of Beirut that left the country in trauma. More than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded after being stored safely, and the default fueled the anger over the neglect, incompetence and inaction of Lebanese governments.

    Hezbollah is not only the most dominant force in Lebanon, it is also perceived as defending a corrupt political elite that has led Lebanon into the abyss. "What Hezbollah does not understand about the explosion, the rage, the demonstrations, is that the citizens see this as the embodiment of the corrupt elite and that they see Hezbollah as responsible for defending it," Georges said. "Hezbollah loses battle over narrative in Lebanon."

    More on Walla! NEWS

    A tribunal in The Hague has convicted a Hezbollah operative of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister al-Hariri

    To the full article

    Many Lebanese, including Christians who previously supported Hezbollah, are now coming out against it even though the economic crisis began much earlier, under previous governments.

    The change came after a speech by Nasrallah, in which he denied responsibility for the blast at the port and warned protesters that further attacks on the system and its leaders would be met with a harsh response. "You would expect him to turn to the public and say he will do anything to find out what happened, that 'we are with the people,'" Georges said.

    However, experts say that Hezbollah's priorities are first and foremost geo-strategic rather than Lebanese and that the organization fears that a change in the system will harm its ability to influence the political system that allows it to possess weapons and fighters. Therefore, he is in difficulties.

    "The political system is close to collapse." Demonstrations against the Lebanese government about two weeks ago (Photo: AP)

    "They want to maintain their strong position in the country, they wanted to maintain their weapons, they wanted to maintain a veto in the decision-making process, and at the same time they wanted to tell citizens that they are anti-corruption and that they are different from the corrupt ruling elite. These contradictions caught Hezbollah," he said. Georges.

    Khalil Jabra, a senior fellow at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Relations, said: "After the explosion, it is clear that the political system is close to collapse. Hezbollah's goal today is to prolong the life of the Lebanese political system."

    "" There are so many internal problems besides the explosion at the port. "Damage damage in Beirut, earlier this month (Photo: Reuters)

    Although the court found no evidence of direct involvement of the Hezbollah leadership, the judges said al-Hariri's assassination was clearly a politically motivated act of terrorism. Experts estimate that the sentence is expected to exacerbate the difficulties of Hezbollah, which is already defined as a terrorist organization by the United States and other countries.

    "It is likely that more and more countries will see Hezbollah as a pre-military terrorist organization," said expert Georges.

    Ranstorp said that even before the sentencing, the atmosphere in Europe and Washington tended against Hezbollah's dominance in Lebanon, due to the Shiite axis that Iran had built across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

    The sentence will exacerbate Hezbollah's difficulties. Dutch court in al-Hariri assassination trial, this week (Photo: Reuters)

    Hezbollah's challenges come at a time when its forces in Syria are almost routinely attacked by the Israeli Air Force, and when its allies' militias in Iraq are also under pressure.

    Most experts estimate that Hezbollah will wait patiently and hope that time will work in its favor, whether Joe Biden is elected president of the United States or through new understandings between Tehran and the Trump administration ahead of the November election.

    "They want to keep the country as it is today. They do not want a strong country, but they also do not want a weak and crumbling one, because that means more headaches and more challenges for them," Haga Ali said.

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    Source: walla

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