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Source: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/how-the-arab-world-turned-against-hezbollah
How the Arab World Turned Against Hizbullah
(Prospect-UK) Lizzie Porter - For many people across the Middle East, Hizbullah fighting on the side of the Assad regime has disrupted its cultivated image as a "resistance" force defying Israel. In the 19 interviews conducted for this article, Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians described growing feelings of unease towards the group. In Lebanon, Hizbullah's traditional Shia support base is suffering as a result of the country's ongoing financial crisis. While Hizbullah members and fighters receive salaries in U.S. dollars, everyone else is paid in Lebanese currency, which has lost more than 3/4 of its value since October 2019. The party's access to dollars - from where remains unclear - pits the Hizbullah haves against the have-nots. Husayn, a Hizbullah unit commander who served in Syria, spoke with disdain about the Assad regime's army. "There are traitors among them. Some of them have killed many of us. They shot us from the back several times while we were attacking. A number of our fighters were martyred because of them."