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Hizbullah Can Be Destroyed by Following the Money

(Sunday Telegraph-UK) Oded Ailam - In laboratories across southern Lebanon, Hizbullah recruits stir amphetamines together with cheap chemicals. The result is Captagon, the "cocaine of the poor." The drug will be sold to Gulf nations and the profits, in the tens of millions of dollars, used to fund terrorism. Drug trafficking is forbidden by Islam. But Hizbullah has developed a pragmatic approach, manufacturing the drug for the "enemies of Islam" in the Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia. In order to prevent Hizbullah from gaining strength after a ceasefire, Israel and the international community must "follow the money." Some 40% of Hizbullah's revenues come from trading Captagon. A targeted attack on its Captagon laboratories in the Bekaa Valley could harm Hizbullah's production and distribution capability. International cooperation is also needed to check the Lebanese banking system, which allows Hizbullah to launder the profits from drug trafficking. While a Hizbullah fighter earns $1,500 a month, a soldier in the Lebanese army earns just $300. These salaries come to a large extent from the drug trade, and cutting the ability to fund them will harm the motivation of Hizbullah's fighters and limit its ability to recruit fighters. The writer is former head of Mossad's Terrorism Division.
2024-10-13 00:00:00
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