Issue No. 610
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31 Oct. - 6 Nov. 2002 Issue No. 610 Region |
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'Fearing Hizbullah'
Hizbullah has remained silent about its alleged role in an Israeli army spy-ring. Beirut, however, might have cause to worry. Mohalhel Fakih reports from the Lebanese capital
Hizbullah is raising eyebrows, even on its own soil. Last week, it was accused of an intelligence operation unprecedented in the 54-year old history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. According to Israel, the Shi'ite group, which drove Israel out of southern Lebanon two years ago, planted an espionage cell in the highest echelons of Israel's military. The resistance group has refused to confirm or deny the accusation.
If proved, the case could boost Hizbullah's standing as an adversary of Israel, however, it could also build-up a case against the group in Israel and the United States.
"I cannot confirm or deny any information that could benefit the Israelis, but the Israeli army is an occupying force that has massacred Arabs," Hizbullah MP, Hussein Hajj Hasan, told Al-Ahram Weekly.
Hizbullah has remained tight-lipped over Israel's indictment of Lieutenant- Colonel Omar Hayeb, a Bedouin Arab. The senior army officer lost an eye and was partially paralysed in a gun-battle six years ago, during Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon. Israeli authorities are now accusing Hayeb, and at least nine others of spying for Hizbullah.
"There have been many cases of drug trafficking and money laundering among their ranks. It's their problem. We are happy that they are worried and angry," the Hizbullah legislator told the Weekly. He was referring to numerous incidents of drug trafficking involving Israeli troops and the, now-defunct, South Lebanon Army, which patrolled the former occupied zone until two years ago.
True or not, Hayeb's indictment raised eyebrows here.
"This is a double-edged sword," Ahmed Ayash, a leading analyst in Beirut told the Weekly. The espionage case, he argued, could boost Hizbullah's image by proving that the group is strong enough to infiltrate Israel's army. At the same time, the indictment of Hayeb could be used to justify a campaign against Hizbullah for its alleged activities outside of Lebanese borders.
Ayash argued that Israel could be building a case against Hizbullah to compare its role to that of Al-Qa'eda before the US attacked the Taliban regime, following the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington.
But this is no Al-Qa'eda and Lebanon is not Afghanistan. The Lebanese government has always defended Hizbullah on grounds that it defended Lebanese land and resisted Israel's occupation of its territory. It also has growing popular support among the Lebanese and Arab public opinion in general.
However, observers warn that any conflict outside the realm of the former occupied zone could draw serious action against Hizbullah. Indeed, Israel still has bitter feelings towards the group that caused its humiliation in May 2000 when it quietly pulled its troops out of southern Lebanon.
Military threats by Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, made at the Knesset were splashed across the front pages of Beirut dailies this week. The Israeli prime minister accused Hizbullah, at a Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in the Knesset, of carrying out "different" activities along the border, which he said could lead Israel to a "difficult and complicated" war. However, Sharon kept the door open for a "political" solution to avert any escalation.
Hizbullah owned media has capitalised on the indictment of the senior officer, despite clear and loud Israeli threats. For days, the group's Al-Manar TV station gave extensive coverage to the al-Kheib's arrest, and translated Israeli media reports reflecting what appeared to be a political and security crisis inside Israel following the bust of the alleged spy ring. The case provided another opportunity for Hizbullah to remind people here and across the Arab world that it remains the only force able to defy and defeat Israel.
Officials in Beirut have remained silent. They are still reeling from a potentially explosive crisis along the volatile frontier with Israel, after Sharon threatened military action against a new Lebanese water pumping station along the shared Wazzani River, which was inaugurated three weeks ago.
Hizbullah has pointed to that episode as a sign of victory over Israel. The group's secretary-general, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, threatened retaliation inside Israel "within minutes" of any strike on the Wazzani River installations, which began pumping water to some 20 parched villages.
Judging from Sharon's comments at the Knesset, it may be too early to cry victory even though Lebanon's right to the water project are secured by international law. The right-wing prime minister reiterated warnings over the Wazzani project, saying he made it clear during recent talks in Washington that Israel would not tolerate Lebanon pumping water for irrigation purposes from the waterway.
Washington has not been impressed by the Wazzani project either. It boycotted the water-pumping inauguration ceremony that was attended by other foreign missions in Beirut. The move has fuelled concerns that the United States and Israel may be coordinating a possible campaign against Hizbullah, which figures high on the US's terrorism list, even though the group denies US charges of attacking American targets in Beirut during the 1975-1990 civil war.
"The United States and Israel are building a case against Hizbullah and there has been speculation that Israel will use the cover of an Iraq war to settle scores with the party and Syria," wrote Michael Young, in the Lebanese English Language, The Daily Star, echoing the warnings that many observers have been making in Beirut.
Observers here have not ruled out the possibility that Sharon might strike Hizbullah as US President George W Bush engages Iraq. Syria has also been at the receiving end of a US and Israeli warning for its backing of the group.
Sharon previously accused Hizbullah of deploying Iranian-made missiles along Israel's frontier. On several occasions, Sharon claimed the group was involved in the Palestinian uprising. Hizbullah denies any material backing for the Palestinians, nevertheless, it does not downplay Israeli threats.
"It could be that Israel is using the [Hayeb's] indictment as part of a worldwide campaign against Hizbullah, but that would only weaken the morale of its army," Hizbullah's Hajj Hassan said. He recalled that many Israeli troops and top officers had refused to serve in the former occupied zone in southern Lebanon "fearing Hizbullah". If Israel's accusations of Hizbullah's involvement in the espionage case are proved correct, it might have more to fear than border attacks.
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