Israel ordered its military and embassies overseas to go on alert earlier in the day and recommended Jewish institutions around the world do the same, fearing revenge attacks for the car bomb that killed Mughniyeh Tuesday night in Damascus. The former Hezbollah security chief was one of world's most wanted fugitives, accused of masterminding attacks that killed hundreds of Americans and French in Lebanon in the 1980s.
The fiery speech by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah at Mughniyeh's funeral signaled that the Iranian-backed Shiite guerrilla group was ending a policy it has proclaimed for years of battling Israel only on Israeli or Lebanese territory, raising the specter of attacks in Western or other countries.
The day's events in Beirut also raised fears that Lebanon's internal turmoil could worsen. Earlier in the day, before Hezbollah supporters bid farewell to Mughniyeh, tens of thousands of their pro-Western political opponents filled a downtown Beirut square to mark former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's 2005 assassination.
Fearing clashes, authorities deployed thousands of troops. The two mass gatherings ended without violence, but the two camps appeared even more deeply entrenched in their divisions, which have left the country without a president since November and the parliament paralyzed.
Hezbollah and its Iranian backers blamed Israel for killing Mughniyeh, but Israel denied involvement. In a videotaped eulogy broadcast on a giant screen to thousands attending the south Beirut funeral, Nasrallah said Israel had taken the fight outside the "natural battlefield" of Israel and Lebanon.
"You have crossed the borders," said Nasrallah, himself in hiding because of fears of assassination since the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. "With this murder, its timing, location and method — Zionists, if you want this kind of open war, let the whole world listen: Let this war be open."
The thousands of black-clad mourners in the ceremony hall raised their fists in the air, chanting, "At your orders, Nasrallah."
In Washington, the State Department said it was not aware of a specific threat made to Israel by the Hezbollah leader but condemned anything of the sort as "alarming."
Source: Fox News
My thoughts:
Israel has always been the target of the evils that reside in the middle eastern region, their people, their culture, their religion, and their own lives are in REAL danger, and yet, so many people are so quick to say "pull out, pull away, let them handle it themselves" of course referring to the Iraqi's, but Israeli's also have to deal with added pressure under this same stance, because we then couldn't be on moments notice to help and support one of our most boxed in allies.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)