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MEMRI Daily: June 10, 2013   MEMRI | MEMRI TV | JIHAD AND TERRORISM THREAT MONITOR | SOUTH ASIA STUDIES PROJECT

IF YOU LIKE THE FOLLOWING RELEASES, PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TO MEMRI'S SUMMER CAMPAIGN Anger In Arab World Following Nasrallah's Admission That Hizbullah Is Involved In Syria Fighting Hizbullah Celebrates Victory At Al-Qusseir, Syria, By Flying Shiite Banner Over Disputed Mosque Special Dispatch No. 5331 Anger In Arab World Following Nasrallah's Admission That Hizbullah Is Involved In Syria Fighting  Introduction  The admission by Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in his May 25, 2013 speech that his organization is fighting in Syria alongside the Assad regime sparked a wave of criticism in the Arab world. The enraged responses came mainly from the Gulf states – primarily Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain – which are hostile to Hizbullah because it is part of the resistance axis, because it is a proxy of Iran and a backer of the Syrian regime, and because it is complicit in attempts to harm the Gulf state regimes, in particular Bahrain. Following the address, the Gulf press argued that Hizbullah was a murderous and hostile organization even more dangerous than Al-Qaeda. There were calls for Hizbullah to be added to the list of terrorist organizations, as Bahrain has recently done, and for measures to be taken against Hizbullah's vital economic interests in the Gulf states, and even against Lebanon for facilitating Hizbullah's activity in Syria. A step in this direction was the decision by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which convened in Jeddah on June 2, 2013, "to examine taking measures against Hizbullah's interests" in the GCC member states. Other articles argued that the organization had forfeited its legitimacy and that it was dragging both Lebanon and the region into sectarian war, as part of an Iranian-Russian plan to gain control of the region. Criticism of Nasrallah's policy in the Syrian crisis was also heard from circles affiliated with Hamas, which, until the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, had itself been part of the resistance axis headed by Syria, Iran and Hizbullah. Following Nasrallah's address, Hamas-affiliated papers and websites posted a number of articles opposing Hizbullah and Iran's support for the Syrian regime. For example, it was argued that Hizbullah and Nasrallah "have fallen into the sectarian trap and become embroiled in sectarian complications and religious wars that will not avail them," and that the decision to support the Syrian regime would have fateful and negative repercussions for Hizbullah's future. In Jordan and Egypt, the responses were fewer and more moderate. Jordan is apparently apprehensive over a possible response by Hizbullah and the Syrian regime, while the Egyptian regime seeks to position itself as a broker in the Syrian crisis. This report will review responses in the Arab world to Nasrallah's speech: Calls In The Gulf: Declare Hizbullah A Terrorist Organization A few hours after Nasrallah's speech, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Khalifa tweeted: "The terrorist Nasrallah is declaring war on his [own Muslim] nation. Halting him and rescuing Lebanon from his clutches is a national and religious obligation that rests upon us all." In a similar vein, articles in the Gulf press contended that Hizbullah was a terrorist organization and called for its inclusion in the list of such organizations. For example, Baina Al-Mulhim, a columnist for the official Saudi daily Al-Riyadh, wrote: "The moderate states in the Arab world, in the Gulf and in America are examining the issue of including Hizbullah on the list of terror [organizations]. This measure is mandatory in order to resolve the matter of this bloody organization that kills Syrians, functions as Iran's tool in both the East and the West, has attempted to intervene in Bahrain, and supports terrorist organizations in Yemen and elsewhere. This organization cannot continue to act unimpeded... There is no alternative but to declare Hizbullah a terrorist organization, since it is more dangerous than Al Qaeda. This is the most hostile and murderous organization in the Gulf and the Arab world... If Nasrallah has decided to fight those calling for takfir [i.e. the Salafi-jihadis], why is he fighting unarmed women and children? This is a sectarian war that Nasrallah has initiated. Hizbullah has made it clear that it is a militia and not a resistance [movement], as some would believe. The fig leaf has been removed from this criminal and violent party." Hussein Shobokshi, columnist for the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, also argued that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization and called for imposing economic sanctions upon it, as well as upon Lebanon as a state, which, in his opinion, should pay a price for Hizbullah's continued flagrant and blatant intervention in the Syrian issue: "...It is important and even mandatory to treat this group [Hizbullah] as what it is: a criminal terror organization similar to Al Qaeda and Jabhat Al-Nusra. This, by its very nature, compels us to treat Hassan Nasrallah himself as a wanted criminal just like [Al-Qaeda leader] Ayman Al-Zawahiri. "Hizbullah has become a cancer that is eating away at the body of an already fragile region by means of a sectarian civil war... and by means of its support for the criminal [Syrian] regime. The time for niceties has passed, and the governments of the Gulf Cooperation Council states must pay heed to public opinion, which is demanding that they clearly and decisively adopt serious, important, and more vigorous measures against Hizbullah. It has become mandatory to initiate activities that will sever Hizbullah's economic arteries in the Gulf by [damaging] its sundry interests. Many companies in vital fields, such as contracting, retail trade, the restaurant business, heavy equipment, prayer rugs, food products and so on, are owned by people or elements directly linked to Hizbullah or its agent, or by someone who is covering up for it. Lebanon must pay the price for handing over its state to a government led by a terrorist militia... "Hizbullah, as the majority party, has transformed Lebanon into [a force that works] against the Syrian revolution and supports a criminal regime and has thus taken a side in the conflict... "[Lebanon] is [already] paying the price for this decision, in the form of a total halt to tourism from the Arab states [to Lebanon], a significant decline in trade with them, and a total absence of new [Gulf] investments [in it]. There is no alternative but to escalate these measures [against Lebanon]... Lebanon in its entirety must pay a price for letting a terrorist organization rule it... There's no alternative but to expel [from the Gulf states] influential Lebanese figures [who are affiliated with] Hizbullah... because they constitute a danger to the national security of the region..." Hizbullah's Activity In Syria Constitutes Occupation And An Indelible Mark of Shame Another argument against Hizbullah's activity in Syria was that it constitutes occupation. An editorial in the Qatari daily Al-Sharq noted: "... We are confronting a campaign by Hizbullah's armed forces to occupy Syrian territory, which is accompanied by aggression against the [Syrian] people... The Hizbullah forces' entry into Syrian territory is occupation... Because the Syrians oppose it..." Jaber Al-Harami, editor of the government Qatari daily Al-Sharq, warned that "the Syrian people and the Arab peoples will never forgive Hizbullah for its actions in Syria, which will remain a mark of shame on its forehead despite all its attempts to renounce them or justify them with baseless arguments. Today's peoples have a sense of awareness and will not be deceived by pretty words." The weapons of the resistance drowning in the Syrian people's blood (Al-Rai, Jordan, May 28, 2013) Click here to read the full report. MEMRI TV Clip No. 3863 Hizbullah Celebrates Victory At Al-Qusseir, Syria, By Flying Shiite Banner Over Disputed Mosque Following are excerpts from footage posted on the Internet on June 8, 2013. The footage shows Hizbullah activists flying a Shiite banner over a mosque in the town of Al-Qusseir, Syria. The mosque is known as Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque by the Sunnis, while the Shiites call it Imam Al-Hasan Al-Mujtaba Mosque. Text: "Flying the banner of Imam Al-Hussein tomb over Imam Al-Hasan Al-Mujtaba Mosque in Al-Qusseir, after its liberation by the Men of Al-Hussein. June 5, 2013." Banner reads: "Oh Hussein" Banner is attached to the top of the mosque by two activists Shiite activists: "Away with humiliation." Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV.