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Hizbullah and Syria: Who Abandoned Who?

(Asharq Alawsat-UK) Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid - Today Hizbullah's enemies have multiplied to the extent that Israel is now the least of their worries. More than half of the Lebanese people are against Hizbullah, while most Arabs are against them as well, and Syria seems to have abandoned them or at least distanced themselves. The majority of Sunnis in Lebanon view Hizbullah with suspicion, or indeed hatred, because they believe that Hizbullah was responsible for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, as well as for occupying areas of Beirut three years ago. In addition, at least half the Christian population of Lebanon oppose Hizbullah, demanding that it give up its arms, fearing that Hizbullah wants to establish an Islamic republic along the lines of Iran. Syria has been Hizbullah's neighbor, ally, and protector for over 30 years. However, the popular uprising is witnessing demonstrators openly chanting anti-Hizbullah slogans and accusing the group of supporting the al-Assad regime in suppressing the demonstrators. Hizbullah's seeking to dominate Lebanon by force will be confronted and face severe challenges in the forthcoming stage. Hizbullah's pretext of confronting Israel has been removed since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon 11 years ago. Since then, Hizbullah has transformed into an organization that serves Iran's interests. Syria seems to have given up playing the role of custodian and ally to Hizbullah, even before the situation in Damascus is resolved.
2011-06-28 00:00:00
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