[Jerusalem Post] Khaled Abu Toameh - At least 50 newborn babies in the West Bank and Gaza have been named after Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah over the past month, sources in the PA Health Ministry said Sunday. As the war nears its end, some moderate Arabs expressed fear that the widely-perceived conviction on the Arab street that Hizballah had won would enhance the position of those who argue that Israel can be defeated or destroyed. PA Minister of Culture Atallah Abu al-Sabah told a pro-Hizballah rally in Gaza City: "Israel can be defeated and this is what the Arab regimes should know. It's time to remove the dust from Arab weapons and to use them to liberate Palestine and the Aksa Mosque....We hope that all the Arab countries will start recruiting and training young men to fight like the great Hizballah fighters." Palestinian political analysts said the fact that many Palestinians and Arabs are convinced that Hizballah had won the war will boost the popularity of extremist groups like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and al-Qaeda.
2006-08-14 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive