From Haaretz:
After Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Saturday that his organization is holding the remains of Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed in the Second Lebanon War, several government ministers on Sunday called for the militant chief’s assassination. “Nasrallah is a cruel and crazy man,” said Minister Yitzhak Cohen (Shas), during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. “I don’t understand why he is still breathing. We should have liquidated him a long time ago. I recommend the cabinet assassinate the man”. Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit (Kadima) echoed the sentiment, saying, “Nasrallah is a person who has crossed all lines of inhumanity. We don’t need to negotiate with him, we need to destroy him.” Absorption Minister Ze’ev Boim called Nasrallah a “sewer rat,” adding, “we must make sure he does not see the light of day.”
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Commentary: Nasrallah has long been the top target on Isarel’s assassination list, so this is not big news for him, and it is hardly the first time that Israeli officials call for Nasrallah’s murder. What is new here is that these calls come from Cabinet members, i.e. the very people who could order such an assassination. But how much of a victory for Israel would the murder of Nasrallah really represent?
For one thing, he is arguably the most popular leader in the entire Middle-East and his unique charisma and personality are impossible to replace. So in a sense, killing Nasrallah would definitely put a lot of balm on the collective Israeli ego bruised by so many defeats at the hands of Hezbollah. This would also be a very risky proposition: Hezbollah’s retaliation for such an act would be devastating but that, in turn, might just provide the Israelis with the needed pretext for another war. Even better, any Hezbollah retaliation could be blamed on Iran. Lastly, the Israelis could kid themselves with their usual delusions that since “Arabs only understand force” killing Nasrallah is going to shatter the morale of the “arrogant” Arabs who needed to be reminded not to mess with the “Jewish state”. I think that all these arguments are fundamentally flawed,
While no current Hezbollah leader has the charisma of Nasrallah, several extremely capable candidates are already available as possible successors – the name of the brilliant Hezbollah Deputy Leader Naim Qassem, author of the best book in English about Hezbollah Hizbollah: The Story from Within (a must read!), immediately comes to my mind. Listen to what Naim Qassem has to say about the life, death, life and martyrdom:
It is likely that, sooner or later, the Israelis, possibly with US assistance, will succeed in killing Hassan Nasrallah and that his murder will be a great source of chest-thumping and back-slapping in Israel. They will, no doubt, ignore the warning of Tertullian that “the blood of martyrs is a seed“, nor will they take heed of Hegel’s law of dialectics which says that each action inevitably triggers a reaction. As is the case with all Neocon victories, this one will be a hollow and short lived one, and it will soon be followed by even more weeping and gnashing of teeth (something of a Neocon speciality it appears). Nasrallah, as a shaheed, will be even far more dangerous for Israel than the one living in Beirut today, but I don’t expect the folks in charge in Israel today to understand that.
I hope Nasrallah has people trained to replace him. Surely we have learned not to put everything behind one superman leader who can be killed. And if Nasrallah doesn’t even have 5 men of courage and integrity and intelligence to replace him if he’s killed, that doesn’t say much for Hezbollah. I am sure there are such qualified Hezbollah members and if more were active as public leaders it seems it would make Nasrallah less of a singular and obvious target.
If they want the remains of their dead soldiers back, couldn’t they just negotiate for the release of Lebanese POW’s. To me it seems obvious that Israel is trying to provoke Hezbollah, but my guess is most of Israel’s supporters will never come to terms with the obvious fact that Israel is the aggressor.
It’s the same in the US. We have waged an aggressive war against Iraq and have come close to initiating one against Iran. But most Americans can’t see throught the fog of propaganda that is put before them.
If war sparks in Lebanon I wonder what the US role might be. Recall Wesley Clark’s leak of the plans to fight wars in seven countries.
-AA
Nasrallah is the public figure of Hezbollah in Israel and in the USA and few people there know about the rest of the Hezbollah leadership (which is an interesting topic into itself which I might write about in a future article).
Also – the Empire does not like to deal with issues or movements, it much rather keep it all as simple as a Western movie and have one super bad villain to demonize. Saddam was Hitler, then Ahmadinejad was Hitler, so now Nasrallah needs to be a Hitler too.
It’s just like Emmanuel Goldstein in Orwell’s 1984: it is a indispensable face for the ‘minute of hate’. And ugly faces like Saddam or Ahmadinejad are perfect for the role. Hezbollah’s Nasrallah has way too much charm and charisma, so killing him requires some extra efforts to demonize him, hence the “sewer rat” talk.
I have absolutely no doubt that Nasrallah has excellent people to replace him. Remember that Nasrallah became the Secretary General of Hezbollah only after the Israelis assassinated his predecessor Abbas al-Musawi in 1992, so its not like Hezbollah does not have a formidable track record of replacing killed leaders.
But the real point is, of course, the way Hezbollah functions: it has a collective leadership and a rather complex internal structure, not unlike Iran’s government structure, without any one single center of power or authority.
Maybe I really should write something about this fascinating issue…
@AA: of course Israel is the aggressor and of course a negotiated solution could be found. But Olmert has already lost too much face, I think, to do anything intelligent at this stage.
A war with Lebanon presents a huge headache for the Empire because, simply put, there is nothing to attack there. Sure, the Empire could make a repeat of the idiotic war in 2006, but what would be the point? The visible Hezbollah is not hiding among the Lebanese Shia population, it *IS* the Lebanese Shia population and short of killing them all I don’t see how to tackle Hezbollah as a political phenomenon.
The covert Hezbollah as about 1000 fighters who are store owners, taxi drivers, medics, or hairdressers in their daily lives and who can only be ‘found’ by putting troops on the ground. But that is no solution either as these fighters are arguably the most formidable guerrilla force on the planet.
Always remember that when an Israeli solider gets killed, there is much ‘oy vey!’ going on in Israel. When a Hezbollah operator gets killed in action, his entire village celebrates.
So murdering Nasrallah, while stupid and counter-productive, might still look as the most alluring option to Olmert and his likes.
Thanks for the response VS and glad to hear it. It still seems somewhat that Nasrallah’s high visibility makes him an easy target for
“Hitlerization”. Why not use a number of charismatic leaders, men as well as women, and let Nasrallah lay low?
Why not use a number of charismatic leaders, men as well as women, and let Nasrallah lay low?
The simple, though silly sounding to any cynic’s ears, answer to this is because the Lebanese people love him as a leader.
I think killing Nasrallah would escalate the confrontation to a point Israel would not wish to reach. If I recall correctly, the killing of Abbas Musawi was followed by the destruction of an Israeli embassy or cultural center in Argentina(?)
I’m pretty sure Israeli cabinet members know that they personally are not indestructible. (didn’t the PFLP kill one 2002?) And I’m sure its been made clear to them what would ensue a Nasrallah assassination.
@Lysander: yes, you make a lot of very good points. The Palestinians did kill a former Israeli Cabinet Minister Rahbaa’m Zevi. And yes, the Israeli center was bombed in Argentina after the Musawi murder. However, as somebody who spend a lot of time in Argentina and who knows the country really well, I can tell you that there are plenty of indigenous forces who could have executed this bombing. Also, the implication of Iran or Hezbollah was never proved, even though many have claimed that it had been. Take a look at this recent article by Gareth Porter: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080204/porter
I am not saying that Hezbollah did not do it. All I am saying that there is no proof that it did. But you are correct, Israel would face terrible reprisals for such an action and you are also correct when you say that, no doubt, this must have been made very clear to them. But will these arrogant idiots listen?!
Israel should kill Nasrallah, yatbakh el khanzir!!
The Murder of Jewish Toddlers!
What HEZBULLAH and Nasrallah are “ALL ABOUT!”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/7487
On July 12, 2006 Lebanese Hezbollah militants crossed the border with Israel in an operation dubbed “Operation Truthful Promise,” which was aimed at nabbing Israeli soldiers in exchange for Lebanese prisoners. Hezbollah succeeded in the operation and successfully took hostage two Israeli soldiers, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. During the operation, eight Israeli soldiers were killed. This ignited the sequence of events which led to the Israel/Lebanon summer war.
The story goes further back than July of 2006. It really began in April 1979! On Sabbath day, April 22, 1979, Danny and Smadar Haran met up with a monster named Samir Kuntar.
Danny and Smadar were a loving Israeli couple. They had everything they could ever hope for… love, marriage and two precious daughters, Einat, 4 and Yael, 2. That day Smadar was home anticipating Danny’s return from work and preparing for the Sabbath. She had just picked up their two toddlers from day care. Danny, on the other hand, was looking forward to nothing more than getting home and spending time with his wife and his two young daughters.
Traditionally, the Sabbath is the most special day of the week, the day the family gets to spend time together and celebrate their bond to Judaism. It was especially important for Danny who, as a young father, had to work extra hard in order to provide for his wife and young children. Little did Smadar know that this would be the last Sabbath she would celebrate with her family because of a man named Samir Kuntar. Around midnight the nightmare began!
(Samir Kuntar; also spelled: Sameer Kuntar, Kantar, Qantar, Kintar, Quntar, Qintar, Cantar)
What’s the deal with Samir Kuntar?
Since April 22, 1979 Samir Kuntar has been incarcerated in an Israeli prison. Samir Kuntar, a Druze from the Lebanese mountain village of Aabey , who currently holds the dubious distinction of being the longest held Lebanese prisoner in Israeli jails. Kuntar is currently ONE of THREE Lebanese prisoners still serving time in Israeli jails. Kuntar was convicted and sentenced to a 542 years prison sentence by the state of Israel . Israel even almost tried to pass a bill to have him executed! What did he do? What was his crime? The crime Kuntar committed was one of the most sickest, heinous, barbaric crime ever committed on Israeli soil.
The crime took place on April 22, 1979 when Kuntar led a group of 3 other terrorists, all members of Abu Abbas PLF (Palestinian Liberation Front), infiltrated the Israeli coastal city of Naharya and broke into the Haran family apartment and took Danny Haran and his 4 year old daughter Einat Haran hostage. When Kuntar and his gang broke into the apartment, the wife, Smadar Haran and her 2 year old daughter Yael, were also present in the apartment. Smadar managed to find a crawl space into which she, her younger daughter, 2 year old Yael, and a neighbor all hid. To prevent Yael from crying and giving away their hiding place, Smadar covered the child’s mouth with her hand.
Kuntar and his group took Danny and little Einat down to the beach. At the beach Kuntar shot Danny in the back. Danny survived the gun shot but moments later was drowned personally by Kuntar. All this was witnessed by the young daughter. Kuntar forced her to watch her father’s murder so that [in Kuntar’s words] “his death would be the last sight she would ever see.” Kuntar then laid the little toddler down on a rock and smashed her head with the butt of his rifle. She didn’t die right away, so Kuntar beat her with his rifle repeatedly, over and over again (all this done, while she was screaming and crying), to ensure that she was dead.
Meanwhile in the apartment, Smadar’s attempt to muffle her daughter’s whimpering proved fatal. Yael was accidentally suffocated and died within the hiding space.
And on July 12, 2006, the ONLY reason why Ehud Goldawasser and Eldad Regev were kidnapped by Hezbollah, was to force Israel to release/surrender Samir Kuntar.
Now the dilemma is, should Israel release Samir Kuntar in order to gain the release of Goldwasser and Regev? Unfortunately Kuntar might be freed in the next couple of days in exchange for these two soldiers, or their caskets, since there hasn’t been even one sign of life since their kidnapping on July 12th. For those who didn’t know, Samir Kuntar was the only reason that’s been holding back the release of Goldwasser and Regev, for almost a year and a half.
According to Smadar Haran, her last memories of Danny and Einat, that day, were when they were being led away at gun point by Kuntar. She could hear from her closet space Danny telling Einat, “Don’t be scared, my baby, it will be alright” and Einat replied to him in her little voice, “Dad, where is Mommy? I want Mommy.” Smadar’s last memory of her 2-year-old daughter, Yael, was when her little daughter was taken to the apartment hiding space. Right before Yael had her mouth covered by her mother, she asked her mother “Where is my little pacifier.” There was no time to search for the pacifier. Minutes later Smadar covered Yael’s mouth to keep her from revealing the hiding space. Smadar soon felt her daughter’s tiny tongue licks and lip sucking on the palm of her hand. She didn’t know what to make of it at first but hours later was told by doctors and paramedics that the reason Yael was licking her palm while she covered her mouth was because she was gasping for air.
A Sad Gruesome Reality
After drowning Danny in the sea in front of little Einat, Kuntar, the brave Lebanese freedom fighter, then turned his attention towards the frightened little 4-year old. He took his rifle and then swung it across the little toddler’s head, knocking her to the ground. As little Einat was knocked to the ground, she was screaming and crying hysterically “mommy daddy help me,” while thrashing her little legs around in the sand. But unfortunately Einat was alone, and no one was there to save her. Kuntar then dragged the little toddler a couple of feet to the closest rock he could find, this was while she was begging him not to hurt her. Kuntar, then laid her head down on a rock, with the intention of crushing it with the butt of his rifle. Einat, instinctively covered her head with her little arms, Kuntar struggled with the little toddler until he finally managed to clear her arms out of the way so that he could aim for her head. Once her arms were out of the way, Kuntar proceeded on beating her on the head over and over with the butt of his rifle, and repeatedly stomping on her little body as hard as he could as well, until blood rushed out of her ears and mouth, and her little cries faded away as she was knocked into unconsciousness. Then, to ensure she was dead, Kuntar continued on beating her over the head, as hard as he could, several more times until her skull was crushed and she was dead.
The nerve of Hezbollah to honor a child killer like Kuntar. The nerve of Hezbollah to kidnap two Israeli soldiers in order to force Israel to release a child murderer from jail! This is what Hezbollah is all about.
The July 12, 2006 abduction was originally named “Operation Freedom Samir Kuntar,” by Hezbollah. But days before the kidnapping Hezbollah changed the name of the operation to “Operation Truthful Promise,” due to the fact that Nasrallah made a true promise to the family of Samir Kuntar to have him freed from jail.
In September 2000, three Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Hizbollah, along with an Israeli businessman, Elhanan Tennenbaum. Nasrallah immediately demanded Israel release all its Lebanese prisoners INCLUDING Samir Kuntar. In 2004 Israel was holding a TOTAL of 26 Lebanese prisoners. That same year, 23 out of those 26 prisoners were released, in order to secure the release of those 3 IDF (Israeli Defense Force) soldiers as well and Elhanan Tennenbaum. This prisoner exchange also had a second phase, which involved Hezbollah providing solid evidence on the fate of Ron Arad (the Israeli pilot who went missing in Lebanon in 1986) and in exchange, Israel would release the 24th Lebanese prisoner, Samir Kuntar! Hezbollah failed to deliver the information on Arad, and the deal was off.
In 2006, when Goldwasser and Regev were kidnapped Israel was out of bargain chips, its only choice in order to gain information on the fate of these two soldiers is the release Samir Kuntar. Who even knows if Goldwasser and Regev are alive! Let’s not forget, the four years prior to the “infamous Israel-Hezbollah prisoner exchange of 2004,” Israel had no idea on the fate of their soldiers until the day of the exchange. Only on the day of the exchange Israel found out, they would receive 3 caskets instead of 3 soldiers.
It is beyond sickening, a man who beat to death a little toddler is celebrated for his glorious deed. Kuntar has been dubbed by some parts of the Arab world as the “Dean of World Prisoners.” Who would imagine? Hezbollah crossing the border into Israel, killing four Israeli soldiers and kidnapping 2 more, going through all this trouble, JUST to free a child killer!
There is another point worth mentioning. Hezbollah has never claimed that Kuntar was innocent or that he may have been framed. They only demand his release as if he were being held unlawfully and that Israel had no right to imprison him.
Kuntar is probably the most hated person by the Israeli public. He is known as the “killer of Nahrya” instead of “terrorist of Nahrya.” And to think that this person is being released under the context of threat, extortion, and blackmail! If it wasn’t for kidnapping of soldiers, Kuntar would have continued to serve out his sentence.
Israel has an extensive history of releasing prisoner with blood on their hands, it has been done in the past and most expect that, it would happen again. This time with Kuntar. It is important to keep in mind that prisoners who are in Israeli jails are serving time for something. Israel is not a “gangster” or “lawless” state that imprisons people based solely on a whim. Every prisoner was charged, stood trail, convicted and properly sentenced. They were not kidnapped simply because they were Arabs. Hence, there is no justification in comparing the kidnapped Israeli soldiers to Samir Kuntar.
There is a fine line between a humanitarian release of prisoners or releasing prisoners for the sake of peace AND knuckling under to unadulterated extortion. There is also a huge difference between someone with hatred in his head and he who has blood on his hands! Nobody expects that someone like Kuntar who is released will become Lovers of Israel! But someone and others like Kuntar who have committed murder or collaborated in the planning of that murder should be considered an unacceptable risk. It goes beyond forgiving terrorism. It becomes an abetting in any future terrorism carried out by those released. Israel will viewed as a weak state that can be brought to its knees by extortion.
If Israel was to release Kuntar it would be the biggest thing they ever surrendered! The Sinai Peninsula, Israel gave back under negotiations, the West Bank and Gaza Israel also gave back under negotiations of the Oslo Accords. In 1985 during the famous “Ahmed Jibril Exchange” Israel released 1200 prisoners for the release of 3 IDF soldiers, some of those prisoners who were released had blood on their hands including Kozo Okamoto who killed 22 Israelis. BUT even all those 1200 prisoners put together, cannot compare to the savage murderous act committed by Samir Kuntar. Israel also currently holds 10,000 Palestinian prisoners, some of which have been incarcerated for conspiring, carrying out, and masterminding murderous terrorist attacks (suicide bombings, shootings, etc…), which targeted Jewish civilians in Israel. BUT even all those 10,000 prisoners put together cannot compare to Kuntar.
Kuntar could have shot little Einat or blown her up, but instead he took his loaded gun and just bludgeoned her on the head repeatedly for several minutes until she was dead! Lets not also forget, the fact, that several minutes prior to murdering Einat, Kuntar drowned her father in front of her, and forced her to watch.
Anyone, who reads this article and does not shed a tear, is not a human being.
What kind of country is this to release a child murderer from jail under the context of threat and extortion? If we release Kuntar, we know what message it sends to Hezbollah and other terror groups like Hamas, etc… But what obscene messages does it send to the families of those Israeli murdered, especially Smadar Haran whose daughter was beaten to death by a man who hates Jews. What Kuntar did was not only a terrorist act but should also be considered a criminal act. And what demoralizing message does it send to the Israeli troops and security services who risked their lives in order to capture and arrest the terrorists?
There is no doubt that Goldwasser and Regev need to be unconditionally released from Lebanon, Syria, Iran or from wherever they are now being held. Olmert’s “good will gesture” has disaster written all over it. Appeasement didn’t work with Hitler and it will not work with Hezbollah. “Negotiations” will not work either for over what exactly is there to negotiate? How far will Israel go to assure its own disappearance?
There will be nothing positive coming out of the release of Kuntar. There is no worst context of releasing prisoners than under the context of threat. But today October 15, 2007 there is chatter within Israel to drop the demand for Ron Arad for the exchange of Kuntar.
The Official Website of Samir Kuntar
http://SamirKuntar.net
Israel moots Kuntar prisoner swap
(AL-JAZEERA 9/17/2006)
http://english.aljazeera.net/News/Archive/Archive?ArchiveID=35918
Free the monster Samir Kuntar
(Haaretz article 09/04/2006)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/758531.html
Plot to free terrorist (Kuntar) may have led to fight
(Washington Times 8/8/2006)
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20060807-111009-8857r.htm
Nasrallah says no deal without Samir
(9/12/2006 BBC article “Nasrallah Demands Militant Free”)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5340364.stm
“Hizballah Wants Israel to Free Child-Killer”
(Cybercast News Service, 7/18/2006)
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200607/INT20060718b.html
More than 25 years later, militant still atop Hezbollah’s list for swap
(Seattle Times 8/16/2006)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003168928_lebswap02.html?syndication=rss
Why Hezbollah Attacked Israel
(Mens News Daily 8/09/2006)
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2006/08/09/why-hezbollah-attacked-israel
Samir Kuntar to be released very soon
The Jerusalem Post 1/6/2007
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467671390&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Video of an interview with Smadar Haran on CBC
(RealPlayer required)
http://www.cbc.ca/MRL/clips/rm-lo/milewski-kuntar060914.rm
Hey – Cedars1559: how many people has Samir Kuntar killed, and how many has Olmert killed? Could you please share with us your estimates?
Anyway, Samir Kuntar was a DRUZE and a member of the secular PFL, not of Hezbollah. There are also doubts about his culpability.
For info on Samir Kuntar, please check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samir_Kuntar
on other kidnapped Lebanese in Israel’s prisons:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_prisoners_in_Israel