by Boaz Bismuth
Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah has succeeded in significantly reducing his circle of friends
since the start of the uprising in Syria in March 2011.
During the Second
Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, Nasrallah was a symbol of Arab pride
and resistance. But Nasrallah has now turned into an enemy of the Sunni
people. The bunker in which Nasrallah spends most of his time protects
him more these days from the Sunnis than from "the Jews."
On Tuesday, Nasrallah's
Shiite supporters, as well as Lebanon's interior minister, pointed the
finger of blame at Israel for the car bomb blast in the Bir al-Abed area
of the Dahiyeh neighborhood in southern Beirut. But they very well know
that it was much more likely that the 35-kilogram explosive device was a
Sunni product. Nasrallah's hands are stained with Sunni blood. Many
Salafi extremists are seeking revenge against Nasrallah, particularly
for his actions in Syria.
The Sunnis and Shiites
have a long-standing rivalry. This deep rift within Islam goes way back
to the succession battle that took place after the death of the Prophet
Muhammad. Much blood has been spilled since then. Muhammad's son-in-law
Ali and grandson Hussein both met tragic ends. Their blood continues to
inspire Shiites to this very day. At times, in places like Iraq, Syria,
Lebanon and Bahrain, the struggle against Israel has shunted the
intra-Islamic conflict temporarily aside. However, it seems that the
Sunni-Shiite conflict will continue for many more years to come.
Nasrallah had his
patron in Tehran in mind when he decided to get Hezbollah involved in
the fighting in Syria. Hezbollah notched some battlefield achievements
in Syria recently, like the capture of Qusair, but Nasrallah forgot that
Syria and Lebanon are sisters, for better or worse. In recent decades,
it has mostly been for worse.
Nasrallah has sought to
bring his fighters home from Syria after the heavy price in blood that
Hezbollah has paid in the fighting there. Hezbollah's supporters at home
weren't happy with the results, even though they're accustomed to
"martyrdom."
But now the war in
Syria has spilled over into Lebanon and reached Nasrallah at home.
Tuesday's bombing in Beirut was just a hint of what awaits Hezbollah.
Iran and its new "liberal" President Hasan Rouhani are preoccupied with a
public relations campaign and Syrian President Bashar Assad is still
fighting for survival. Nasrallah may soon feel very alone and
vulnerable. Given the situation he now faces, it might be wise for
Nasrallah to reinforce his bunker.
Some think that the
Free Syrian Army was responsible for the bombing in Dahiyeh. But the
Free Syrian Army on Tuesday chose rather to refer to what took place on
Thursday night in Latakia, saying "a foreign military destroyed
anti-ship missiles of the Russian-made Yakhont type." In the Middle
East, "a foreign military" means Israel.
Sunnis and Shiites need to ensure
Israel's existence and security, because without Israel around, who
knows how much deeper their historic rift would get?
Boaz Bismuth
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=4937
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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