Israel’s strike against a group of high-ranking Hizballah operatives, which also killed an Iranian general, met with approval and praise from many Arabs, much of it expressed via social media. In explaining this surprising groundswell of appreciation for the Israeli military, Abdulrahman al-Rashed points to Hizballah’s “heinous actions of targeting its rivals in Lebanon and its involvement in the killing of thousands in Syria.” He continues:
Those who shifted from admiring Hizballah to hating the group did so in less than one decade. These people used to support Hizballah in Lebanon in the past and they used to adopt the Shiite party’s political and military agenda. Anger began to surface when Hizballah’s militias occupied West Beirut [in 2008]—three years after the party’s involvement in the assassination of [Lebanese] Sunni leader Rafiq al-Hariri in 2005.
Hizballah, and also Iran, have lost the respectful and honorable status which they’ve always enjoyed in the name of Islam, Lebanon, and Palestine. Hizballah’s biggest fall [from grace] came in the wake of its clear sectarian bias in Syria as its members joined the filthy war which has killed more than 250,000 people in the biggest crime in the history of the region. This Iranian involvement in Syria will also have further repercussions.
There’s no doubt, in my view, that if a confrontation occurs between Israel and Hizballah or between Israel and Iran, many Arabs will pray for the defeat of Hizballah’s militias and [the] generals of its Iranian ally. This strange feeling, even if temporary, reflects the change in the region’s alliances and political stances.
More about: Hizballah, Iran, Israel-Arab relations, Lebanon, Shiites