Hizbullah Intensifies Conflict

Hizbullah is intensifying its efforts to take down Lebanon's duly elected government under Siniora. Chanting Death to Siniora is not a way to make friends but it will influence them. Hizbullah's endgame is to dominate Lebanon by hook, crook, and all means available to it. Note how Hizbullah is dealing with the suspicious death of one of its thugs in skirmishes with pro-Lebanese forces yesterday:

Ahmed Ali Mahmoud, the young Hezbollah and Amal supporter who was shot in the back as his Shiite gang infiltrated a Sunni neighborhood in Beirut on Sunday night, was buried today.

Mahmoud was killed in clashes between Hezbollah supporters and Lebanese Sunnis after Hezbollah thugs infiltrated the Sunni neighborhood on Sunday. The Hezbollah (Amal) members carried stones, sticks and knives with them for fight that lasted about 45 minutes.

It is still not clear who pulled the trigger... But Mahmoud died from a bullet wound to the back!

...Just like a similar incident last time.

No one knows who shot the guy, and will probably never know what happened. Yet, Hizbullah will milk the incident for all its worth. Despite all this, the numbers protesting in front of the Lebanese government building is shrinking though still estimated at about 100,000.

An estimated 100,000 protesters spent a fourth day in Downtown Beirut Monday, continuing to call for Premier Fouad Siniora to resign. Reports emerged that an opposition delegation would visit the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkirki on Tuesday, but Hizbullah's media officer told The Daily Star that only former Minister Suleiman Franjieh's Marada Party was heading to see Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir.

Protesters from Hizbullah, Amal, the Free Patriotic Movement and Marada spent Monday demonstrating, sleeping, studying, praying, dancing or just smoking nargileh, as they demanded the resignation of the "US government in Lebanon."

I have no doubt that this language will find its way into wire reports that say that the Siniora government is US-backed (oh wait, that's what happened yesterday!).

Yet, the Lebanese military has managed to keep things relatively calm thus far - at least no major bloodshed. However, Walid Phares notes that Hizbullah is acting in concert with Tehran and Damascus:

According to sources in the Lebanese Army, the gradual “coup” is taking place with a minute preparation coordinated by the Iranian embassy in Beirut. A “War room,” including HizbAllah, Syrian intelligence, President Lahoud’s secret services, Baath Party, Syrian National-Socialists and representatives from General Michel Aoun’s group, is directing the campaign.

On the political level, the single most important development is the decision made by the March 14 movement and the Cedars Revolution leaders to “move the headquarters of the Government to Mount Lebanon if the Syro-Iranian militias would overrun the Prime Minister’s office.” Such a decision means that the Seniora cabinet and the leaders of the anti-Syrian majority in Lebanon will resist the onslaught of HizbAllah’s forces and would eventually call on the people to oppose the coup d’Etat. In Washington and Paris, Governmental sources said that bringing down the Government outside the Parliament is a red line. In New York, the Security Council members, particularly the US and French delegations have clearly signified their rejection of a violent crumbling of a democratically elected cabinet. This view is widely shared by the majority of Arab moderate countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.

Once again, we see that the duly-elected Lebanese government has widespread support, not just among the US, but other Arab countries not named Iran and Syria. And it is Iran and Syria that is working with Hizbullah to pull strings to bring down the Lebanese government.

So what will UNIFIL have to say about this? Not a thing. The UN entity that is supposed to be in Lebanon disarming all militias and insuring Lebanon's territorial integrity is too busy threatening Israeli recon overflights to see what Hizbullah is up to. If Siniora goes, so will UNIFIL and Israel will be in the same position it was immediately after Goldwasser and Regev were captured in a Hizbullah cross-border raid into Israel that also resulted in the deaths of several other Israeli soldiers.

The Times can't find the time to report on the situation in Lebanon. All the news fit to print. Sure.

UPDATE:
When death becomes a way of life. It's pretty symbolic of all the Islamic terror groups, not just Hizbullah. Beirut Spring has first hand reporting from the Rafik Hariri International Airport and its environs. Open Lebanon has more.

Merkel and Chirac plead with Syria not to destabilize Lebanon. That's all they are willing to do - talk. Too bad, but Syria is already closing in on the tipping point. Their continued support of Hizbullah all but guarantees it.

Of course, all the rival groups are accusing the others of being in bed with foreign governments. Only thing is that some are well and truly in bed, and some just have support. Siniora has the support of the West, including the US. Hizbullah and Aoun are in cahoots with Syria and Iran. Big difference.

Technorati: terrorism, nasrallah, fatah, gilad shalit, siniora, nasrallah, Olmert, Abbas, Regev, Goldwasser, PRC, Hamas, Gaza, palestinian, Israel, hizbullah, hezbullah, hezbollah, lebanon, syria.