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Hezbollah Seeks Boost in Lebanon Vote as Disarmament Calls Grow
A banner depicting late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and campaign poster of the candidates running for municipal elections, are placed along a street in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, May 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Campaign posters in south Lebanon are urging support for Hezbollah in elections on Saturday as the Iran-backed terrorist group aims to show it retains political clout despite the pounding it took in last year’s war with Israel.
For Hezbollah, the local vote is more important than ever, coinciding with mounting calls for its disarmament and continued Israeli airstrikes, and as many of its Shi’ite Muslim constituents still suffer the repercussions of the conflict.
Three rounds of voting already held this month have gone well for the Islamist group. In the south, many races won’t be contested, handing Hezbollah and its allies early wins.
“We will vote with blood,” said Ali Tabaja, 21, indicating loyalty to Hezbollah. He’ll be voting in the city of Nabatieh rather than his village of Adaisseh because it is destroyed.
“It’s a desert,” he said.
The south’s rubble-strewn landscape reflects the devastating impact of the war, which began when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Hamas at the start in October 2023 of the Gaza conflict and culminated in a major Israeli offensive.
Hezbollah emerged as a shadow of its former self, with its leaders and thousands of its fighters killed, its influence over the Lebanese state greatly diminished, and its Lebanese opponents gaining sway.
In a measure of how far the tables have turned, the new government has declared it aims to establish a state monopoly on arms, meaning Hezbollah should disarm – as stipulated by the US-brokered ceasefire with Israel.
Against this backdrop, the election results so far indicate “the war didn’t achieve the objective of downgrading Hezbollah‘s popularity in the community,” said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center, a think tank. “On the contrary, many Shia now feel their fate is tied to Hezbollah‘s fate.”
“This [Hezbollah‘s election performance’ really matters,” Hage Ali added. “It shows they still represent the great majority of Shi’ites and underlines the reality that any attempt by other Lebanese to disarm them by force would risk being seen as a move against the community and jeopardize civil peace.”
Hezbollah‘s arms have long been a source of division in Lebanon, sparking a brief civil conflict in 2008. Critics say Hezbollah has unilaterally involved Lebanon in wider Middle East conflicts.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called for dialogue with Hezbollah over a national defense strategy, implying discussion of its weaponry, but talks have yet to begin.
Foreign Minister Youssef Raji, a Hezbollah opponent, has said that Lebanon has been told there will be no reconstruction aid from foreign donors until the state establishes a monopoly on arms.
Hezbollah, in turn, has put the onus on the government over reconstruction and accuses it of failing to take steps on that front, despite promises that the government is committed to it.
A US State Department spokesperson said that while Washington was engaged in supporting sustainable reconstruction in Lebanon, “this cannot happen without Hezbollah laying down their arms.”
“We have also made clear transparency and economic reform are the only path to greater investment and economic recovery for the country,” the spokesperson said in response to a Reuters query.
DISARMAMENT TERMS
Hezbollah says its weapons are now gone from the south but links any discussion of its remaining arsenal to Israel’s withdrawal from five positions it still holds, and an end to Israeli attacks.
Israel says Hezbollah still has combat infrastructure including rocket launchers in the south, calling this “blatant violations of understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
A French diplomatic source said reconstruction would not materialize if Israel continues striking and the Lebanese government does not act fast enough on disarmament.
Donors also want Beirut to enact economic reforms.
Hashem Haidar, head of the government’s Council for the South, said the state lacks the funds to rebuild, but cited progress in rubble removal. Lebanon needs $11 billion for reconstruction and recovery, the World Bank estimates.
In Nabatieh, a pile of rubble marks the spot where 71-year-old Khalil Tarhini’s store once stood. It was one of dozens destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Nabatieh’s central market.
He has received no compensation and sees little point in voting. Expressing a sense of abandonment, he said: “The state did not stand by us.”
The situation was very different in 2006, after a previous Hezbollah-Israel war. Aid flowed from Iran and Gulf Arab states.
Hezbollah says it has aided 400,000 people, paying for rent, furniture, and renovations. But the funds at its disposal appear well short of 2006, recipients say.
Hezbollah says state authorities have obstructed funds arriving from Iran, though Tehran is also more financially strapped than two decades ago due to tougher US sanctions and the reimposition of a “maximum pressure” policy by Washington.
As for Gulf states, their spending on Lebanon dried up as Hezbollah became embroiled in regional conflicts and, echoing the US, they declared it a terrorist group in 2016. Saudi Arabia has echoed the Lebanese government’s position of calling for a state monopoly of arms.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said it was up to the government to secure reconstruction funding and that it was failing to take “serious steps” to get the process on track.
He warned that the issue risked deepening divisions in Lebanon if unaddressed. “How can one part of the nation be stable while another is in pain?” he said, referring to Shi’ites in the south and other areas, including Beirut’s Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs, hard hit by Israel.
The post Hezbollah Seeks Boost in Lebanon Vote as Disarmament Calls Grow first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
The post Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Demands Ceasefire Goes On as Long as Talks Continue
Trucks carrying aid line up near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt, February 1, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
i24 News – Hamas is demanding guarantees that a potential ceasefire with Israel will continue as long as negotiations for an end to the fighting go on, according to a report in the Saudi A-Sharq newspaper on Sunday.
As Israel’s delegation is set to arrive in Doha, the Saudi paper published a full list of the terror organization’s demands, citing an official close to Hamas.
Hamas is demanding 400 to 600 aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip per day, bringing food, medicine, tents, mobile homes, fuel, and construction materials to rebuild hospitals, bakeries, and water stations.
They are also demanding UN agencies be involved in the delivery of the aid, including UNRWA, as opposed to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) currently delivering aid.
The Rafah border crossing must also be reopened in both directions to allow more than 20,000 sick and injured people in need of urgent medical treatment in hospitals in Egypt and abroad, as well as bringing in humanitarian aid from the Egyptian side of the crossing.
Israel must also detail dates from which its forces will withdraw, with specific timelines, over the course of the 60-day ceasefire. The withdrawal must include all parts of Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor along the border with Egypt.
The Israeli and Hamas delegations will be in the same buildings, but in separate rooms, with Egyptian and Qatari officials liaising between the two sides.
A report in Palestinian news site Ma’an said that Hamas is demanding 1,000 Palestinian prisoners be freed in the hostage release deal. This includes about 100 who are serving life sentences.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier called Hamas’ changes and revisions to the most recent proposal “unacceptable,” despite sending the delegation to Qatar.
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Netanyahu Sets Off to Meet Trump: ‘Opportunity to Expand Circle of Peace’
US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk in the midst of a joint news conference in the White House in Washington, US, Jan. 28, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
i24 News – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for a state visit on Sunday to the US, where he will meet with President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the 12-day operation against Iran and the scaled-up attempt to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said that the visit is a “great opportunity” to “expand the circle of peace,” referring to indications that several countries in the region will sign normalization agreements with Israel, joining the Abraham Accords.
“In a conversation with President Trump, I will first thank him for his strong mobilization in favor of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “We have never had such a friend in the White House. And our joint mobilization brought a great victory against our common enemy – Iran. Iran has put our destruction on its flag.”
Despite years of fears over how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program and air defenses, Netanyahu said “the IDF brought it to action, and so did the Mossad and all the security forces, and not only there, also against Lebanon. For years we feared what Hezbollah would do and if we could cope with it. And we could, and also against Hamas.”
“In a conversation with President Trump, I will first thank him for his strong mobilization in favor of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “We have never had such a friend in the White House. And our joint mobilization brought a great victory against our common enemy – Iran. Iran has put our destruction on its flag.”
Despite years of fears over how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program and air defenses, Netanyahu said “the IDF brought it to action, and so did the Mossad and all the security forces, and not only there, also against Lebanon. For years we feared what Hezbollah would do and if we could cope with it. And we could, and also against Hamas.”
The post Netanyahu Sets Off to Meet Trump: ‘Opportunity to Expand Circle of Peace’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.