Israel Matzav

Hizbullah men await the Israelis, then the Sunnis

Reading this article in Al-Guardian, which is a lengthy interview with Hezbullah terrorists, I have to wonder why the Lebanese government, the non-Shia Lebanese and the Arab governments generally are not finding a way to allow Israel to do the job for all of them. Everyone knows that it's in the interest of the United States for Israel to defeat Hezbullah. But as this article illustrates, it's not just in Israel's and the United States' interest.

Hat Tip: The Big Pharoah

For Ali and his comrades, the latest conflict is a war of survival not only for Hizbullah but for the whole Shia community. It is not only as a war with Israel, their enemy for decades, but also with the Sunni community. Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have all expressed fears of Iranian domination over the Middle East.

"If Israel comes out victorious from this conflict, this will be a victory for the Sunnis and they will take the Shia community back in history dozens of years to the time when we were only allowed to work as garbage collectors in this country. The Shia will all die before letting this happen again."

He says that even if the international community calls on Hizbullah to disarm as part of a peace deal, he and his men will not lay down their arms. "This war is episode two in disarming Hizbullah. First they tried to do it through the Lebanese government and the UN. When they failed, the Americans asked the Israelis to do the job."

...

And even when the battle with the Israelis is over, he adds menacingly, Hizbullah will have other battles to fight. "The real battle is after the end of this war. We will have to settle score with the Lebanese politicians. We also have the best security and intelligence apparatus in this country, and we can reach any of those people who are speaking against us now. Let's finish with the Israelis and then we will settle scores later."

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:48 PM