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Comment by Agingcoder | Hacker News Reader

Hezbollah members in Lebanon are not necessarily perceived as bad people - why would the scar be a problem ? Hezbollah claims it’s a resistance movement to Israel, they’re now wearing a scar caused by Israel in a mass coordinated attack, which will further legitimize Hezbollah.

I agree with the disruption of communication protocols and psychological damage though.

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I don't get it. Why does Lebanon need to resist Israel? When in recent history has Israel attacked Lebanon or threatened it in any way, except in retaliation or defense against Hezbollah acts?

In the first Lebanon war, Israel invaded Lebanon to strike against PLO. At this time, Hezbollah did not really exist, or was at least small and insignificant. It grew as a force in opposition of Israel's occupation.

If the ruling government of Lebanon allowed the PLO to strike Israel from Lebanese soil, what could they expect Israel to do?

This was in the middle of the Lebanese civil war in 1982 , the Lebanese government had no control over anything.

Furthermore, after the Israeli entered Lebanon in 1982, they didn’t fully leave the country until 2000, which is what caused the founding of hezbollah in 1982, and the perception of hezbollah as a resistance movement since then.

Basically the Lebanese see Israel has having attacked then occupied a part of Lebanon for about 20 years, between 1982 and 2000 - this is recent enough for most people to relate to it.

The Lebanese should then have a good answer to what they expected Israel to do with attacks being launched from Lebanese soil without the Lebanese doing anything about it. I understand, they were in the middle of a civil war, but that doesn't mean Israel has to be OK with attacks happening.

The occupation came as a result of continued attacks. And after Israel left in 2000, more and more attacks happened, culminating in the 2006 war.

The fact remains that if no there were no threats against Israel from Lebanon, there would be nothing for Lebanon to fear from Israel. It's repeatedly sought and made peace with every sovereign country with which is has no ongoing disputes.

(There are, as I understand it, some minor territorial disputes along the border. I'm sure these can be quickly resolved through negotiation, if all parties are serious about it.)

Lebanon has a weak government. I think you could compare it with a house owner who does not have the means to evict uninvited guests, where the guests are much stronger and more powerful than the owner. This is both because the country consists of many ethnic groups and religions, and because it came to host a lot of Palestinian refugees and became base for the HQ of Palestinian resistance. Add on top of this widespread corruption. The situation is pretty dire.

Hezbollah are not Palestinian. They're Shia Lebanese. And they're engaging in warfare against Israel with no provocation.

Israel responds by targeting Hezbollah weapons, assets and militants.

That doesn't explain why the average Sunni Lebanese in Beirut would feel like they need to "resist" Israel.

I didn't say Hezbollah is Palestinian. Just that Lebanon have had to handle a huge amount of palestinian refugees.

Certainly Israel's invasion of Lebanon in the early 80s affected many inhabitants of Lebanon, not just palestinians.

I didn't say that the invasion didn't affect many Lebanese. Only that the Lebanese don't need to "resist" Israel, because it is not a threat to them, so long as they're not attacking it (or are in close proximity to those who are).

Hezbollah considers that they must fight Israel following the Gaza war. They’ve stated they won’t stop until the Israelis leave Gaza.

The average Sunni Muslim in Beirut either remembers, or has family who remembers what happened during the (unprovoked by the Lebanese) Israeli invasion and subsequent occupation. Today, most of the Arab world supports Hamas in the Gaza war, considering that the large number of civilians being killed is essentially mass murder. Mix these two informations, and you will find very little trust towards Israelis. Add today’s attacks and things get even worse.

It’s very easy to destroy trust, and very hard to build it. None of this has to be perfectly logical - it’s not how people work.

'Allah's Messenger said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."'

(94)Chapter: Fighting against the Jews Sahih al-Bukhari 2926 Book 56, Hadith 139

(Part of Sunni Islam)

And they're engaging in warfare against Israel with no provocation.

Actually they were conceived and rose to prominence in direct response to this rather substantial provocation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Lebanon_War

Please read some history man. I urge you to do it. Google it.

I actually read quite a bit. Point me towards something specific if you will.

Is it all of Lebanon though? I think Christian and Druze Lebanese don’t like the Hezbollah much anyway. Sure the Shiite south does but no one else.

The scar marks an operative. Israel has a huge amount of video footage, now they work backward and see where that person went, and who they talked to.

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