Arab World Turning Against Hezbollah

Only days ago Youssef Ibrahim wrote in his open letter to his Palestinian brothers that Arabs are asking Palestinians to stop the futile war against Israel and move on with their lives. Today we get news that the governments of the Arab League are turning their backs on Hezbollah and their radical jihadist compatriots:

BEIRUT, Lebanon – With the battle raging between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, Arab governments are taking the rare step of publicly blaming Hezbollah, underscoring their growing fear of the group’s main sponsor, Iran.

Saudi Arabia, supported by Jordan, Egypt, several Persian Gulf states and the Palestinian Authority, chastised Hezbollah for “unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible acts” at an emergency Arab League summit Saturday in Cairo.

“These acts will pull the whole region back to years ago, and we cannot simply accept them,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said of Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel.

It is nearly unheard of for Arab officials to chastise an Arab group engaged in conflict with Israel, especially as images of destruction at the hands of Israeli warplanes are beamed into Arab living rooms. The willingness of those governments to defy public opinion in their countries underscores a shift that is prompted by the growing influence of Iran and Shiite Muslims in Iraq and across the region.

The way some officials see it, Arab analysts said, Israel is the devil they know, but Iran is the devil that could win.

[snip]

The willingness of the leading governments to openly defy Arab public opinion, which has raged against Israel’s actions in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, underscores the readjustment of risks Arab governments believe they face.

“Who’s benefiting?” asked a senior official of one of the Arab countries critical of Hezbollah, speaking anonymously because he is unauthorized to comment publicly. “Definitely not the Arabs or the peace process. But definitely the Iranians are.”

Bill Kristol said on Fox News earlier this morning that Arabs are ticked off that Iran and Hezbollah are destroying any chance for peace and civility in the region and that they’re pulling for Israel to crush Hezbollah.

This is an important development because in order for peace to succeed in the Middle East, the rest of the Arab world must stand up to these terrorists and demand that they stop hijacking the entire region and holding its population hostage for their purposes.

"Tell it to the Marines!"
A convenient treason

14 Comments

  1. JohnAnnArbor July 17, 2006
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