Saudi Writers Attack Hizbullah: It Initiated The Military Escalation Vis-à-vis Israel To Serve Iran, Is Devastating Lebanon

Following the military escalation between Israel and Hizbullah in the last two weeks – which included the August 25, 2019  Israeli drone attack on the Dahia, Hizbullah's stronghold in Beirut; threats of retaliation by Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, and Hizbullah's September 1, 2019 firing of anti-tank missiles into northern Israel – writers in the Saudi press published articles attacking Hizbullah and Nasrallah. The writers accused Hizbullah of dragging Lebanon into confrontations with Israel to serve the Iranian agenda and thereby harming Lebanon and its economy and perpetrating treason against it. They also wrote that Hizbullah has turned Beirut into a military base and taken over Lebanon's vital centers of power, and called to restore sovereignty to the Lebanese government, so that it will be the only force in Lebanon authorized to make decisions on war and peace.

The following are excerpts from their articles:

 

Cartoon in Saudi daily: Nasrallah as a spider entangling "Lebanon" in its web (Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 3, 2019)

Senior Journalist 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed: Hizbullah Is The Problem, Not Israel

On September 2, 2019, the day after Hizbullah's missile attack on Israel,  senior Saudi journalist 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, formerly the editor-in-chief of the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat and currently the head of the editorial board of Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya TV and Al-Hadath TV,[1] published in the English-language Saudi daily Arab News an article titled "Imagine Lebanon without Hizbullah." In it, he wrote:

"I think there is a group of people who still believe the lies Hezbollah and its leader spout to justify using Lebanon in this week’s attack against Israel. At the same time, I doubt there are any people, even from within this group, who agree with Hezbollah’s actions and the damage the group causes Lebanon while using excuses that no longer convince anyone.

"Hezbollah has given years of ethnic, patriotic and religious excuses, from the liberation of the south to the protection of religious places and the Syrian Shebaa Farms. Because of Hezbollah, Lebanon is beleaguered internationally in its financial transactions and trade and tourism, while nationally it is held captive and controlled, from the airport to the house of government...

"Hezbollah is the only cause of the state’s low income and political bullying...

"It is not hard to understand the damage caused to Lebanon’s 6 million people by Hezbollah’s presence as an armed militia. However, it is harder to understand those who are still supporting Hezbollah today, echoing its resistance claims against Israel and justifying its arms and daily defiance of the state and its authorities. All other front-line states have signed peace agreements with Israel: Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and even Syria, with the Agreement on Disengagement, which is why it used Hezbollah to carry out its heroic acts on behalf of Lebanon...

"Israel is not the problem, Hezbollah is. If Lebanon’s politicians do not address this problem, the country will not come out from the hole dug for it by Iran and its proxy.

"Hezbollah’s followers and fans can still preserve it, while preserving Lebanon at the same time, by forcing it to disarm and become a civil political party. Otherwise, more painful decisions are on the way.

"Finally, I would only like to say: Imagine Beirut, and all of Lebanon, without Hezbollah."  

 

Cartoon in Saudi daily: "Hizbullah" as a serpent besieging Lebanon (Al-Jazirah, Saudi Arabia, September 4, 2019)

Senior Saudi Journalist: Decisions Of War And Peace Must Not Be Left To Hizbullah; Lebanon Deserves To Be A Sovereign State

Salman Al-Dosari, the former editor of the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, wrote: "Hassan Nasrallah has controlled Lebanon's affairs for long decades. He gives orders, and is obeyed. He makes decisions on war and on peace. No regime deters him and no country stops him. If he wants to make trouble for his country, he does so, and nobody dares to oppose him. When Iran impels him to implement its tactics, he does not care whether they serve Lebanon or harm it. He is party to Iran's terror and punishes the Lebanese economically, politically and socially. He presents himself as a side in the Syrian crisis, and the entire [Lebanese] state suffers. Thus he has remained the ruler [of Lebanon], not only by relying on weapons more powerful than those of the state, but also by [employing] terrorism against all his opponents, [so that] nobody has been able to speak out or express any objection. The rivals who were punished by the [Hizbullah] organization live in our collective memory. [Hizbullah's] custom is to act on sovereign issues independently of the state, and the response [to its actions] is surprising and is more than Lebanon can cope with. [But] obviously, no devastating consequences concern Hizbullah or its helpers. Its only concern is to attain its goal by means of this escalation, even if it develops into an all-out war.

"This time, following the clashes between Hizbullah and Israel, Hizbullah and its head Hassan Nasrallah were surprised [to find that], for the first time, the equation has changed. The terror [employed by Hizbullah against its] rivals has gradually lost its impact, because the Lebanese attitude towards the lies of the resistance, like the Arab attitude before it, has changed compared to what it was after [Hizbullah's] escapade in 2006. Lebanese voices have begun to speak out against those who have hijacked their state and seek to eliminate it...

"It is no longer possible to leave decisions of war and peace in Hizbullah's hands, so it can manipulate them according to the agenda dictated by Iran's regional strategy, while the Lebanese government consistently remains passive and fails to discharge it duties – first and foremost [the duty to ascertain] whether these pointless clashes and battles [between Hizbullah and Israel] benefit Lebanon, or only the [Hizbullah] organization.

"The circle of protesters who say that Lebanon is not smaller than Hizbullah continues to expand. Lebanon deserves to regain its status as a sovereign state that is exclusively entitled to defend its citizens and their collective interest, rather than [the hostage of] a revolution that rides on the back of the state and brings the Lebanese nothing but ruin and destruction."[2]    

Cartoon in Saudi daily: "Hizbullah" as a lock around "Lebanon" (Al-Jazirah, Saudi Arabia, September 1, 2019)

Saudi Columnist: The Conflicts With Israel Instigated By Hizbullah Reflect The Iranian Agenda, Not The Lebanese Will

A columnist in the Makkah daily, 'Abdallah Al-'Awlaqi, wrote: "In the wake of the effective sanctions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on the ayatollah regime, Iran is expected to [respond] by means of its proxies and tools in the region. The Lebanese Hizbullah no doubt constitutes an important political bargaining chip that [Iran's Islamic] Revolutionary Guards [Corps] uses in [its] indirect negotiations with Europe and the U.S. – and the latest moves against Israel that were deliberately instigated by the Lebanese Hizbullah may be the best proof of this...

"The farce of the Lebanese Hizbullah has become obvious to the Arab public, and everyone now realizes that it is nothing but empty talk, because the [military] confrontations with the Zionist entity that Hizbullah initiated are not the result of a [Lebanese] national decision reflecting the conscience of all sectors of the Lebanese people. Instead, they are the implementation of an agenda imposed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards [Corps]. This is why the Lebanese people accuse this terrorist organization [Hizbullah] of treason against the nation. When the entire homeland serves as a worthless political tool in the hands of a terrorist party, this is a blatant sign of treason against the nation.

"The [most] unfortunate aspect of this [state of affairs] is that the Lebanese economy has reached a dangerous state, which heralds a complete collapse of the Lebanese currency, and is classified among the worst economies in the world. The one responsible for all this is the lunatic Hassan Nasrallah, because the foreign investors left Lebanon after Hizbullah turned Beirut into a military base and took over the state's vital facilities. Furthermore, Hizbullah's dubious activities in the domain of drug trafficking have turned it into a wealthy [organization] that has no need for the national economy as long as its mentality reduces the homeland into nothing more than a protectorate of the Iranian regime.

"Lebanon is geographically small... and militarily weak, whereas Israel enjoys unlimited American and European support that has enabled it to become a powerful military and technological force in the region, and its military history vis-à-vis its Arab surroundings perhaps indicate its superiority. This is not defeatist discourse, but merely recognition of the verdict of reason and common sense... Hizbullah's dangerous independent recklessness in its failed wars against Israel is nothing but a cheap exploitation of the Palestinian cause..."[3]

Cartoon in Saudi daily: "Hizbullah" is taking control of "Lebanon" (Makkah, Saudi Arabia, September 3, 2019)

Saudi Columnist: Hizbullah And Its Head Are The Emblem Of Treason Against The Nation

Hamoud Abu Talib, a columnist for the daily 'Okaz, wrote: "The Arab's catastrophe no longer [originates] outside their countries but within them, and they no longer fear a distant enemy but rather a traitor close by. In the past the treason was secret and hidden, but now it is public and overt, and is announced out loud as though it is a noble action rather than a despicable one of treason against the nation.

"The most prominent emblem of institutionalized national treason may be the model [represented by] Hizbullah and its leader Nasrallah. This man and his organization show up whenever there is a crisis in Lebanon and remind us of all the crimes that have committed against [this country]. [Nasrallah] emerges from his hideout after every crime and, without batting an eyelid, delivers a long speech filled with lies, errors, falsehoods and invective,... while his audience applauds him on his huge screen and repeats hollow slogans with fake enthusiasm. The latest incident, the attack on the Dahia by the two [Israeli] drones, was another episode in the chain of destructive [acts] perpetrated by Hizbullah against Lebanon. As usual it was an incentive for Nasrallah to deliver a speech that evoked in those who heard it nothing but loathing towards him and sorrow for Lebanon.

"[Nasrallah] talks of Arabhood but is consistently loyal to Iran. He calls for resistance against Israel but makes deals with it. He threatens to deter anyone who attacks Lebanon but crushes its security and destroys it politically and economically. He brutally attacks Lebanon's institutions, including the army and security apparatuses, but turns into a shivering coward when Israel directs a simple threatening message at him. This is a clear and loathsome example of... treason – yet despite all this he still speaks of patriotism."[4]