Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Yaari, Ehud

Titel

The Hezbollah model

Ist Teil von

• The Jerusalem report, 2014-07, p.8

Ort / Verlag

Jerusalem: Jerusalem Report

Erscheinungsjahr

2014

Quelle

Nexis Uni (LexisNexis)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Hezbollah's modus operandi in Lebanon - which can be summed up as "add ballots to your bullets" - was pushed as a model to be emulated. Subsequently, Tehran praised the initial reconciliation pact between Hamas and Fatah.On April 26, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stated, "The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes solidarity among Palestinian groups against the Zionist regime, as well as any kind of national reconciliation that results in Palestinian unity." The statement was one of several signs that Iran had approved the deal in advance. Similar to Hezbollah's longstanding position in Lebanon, recent statements by numerous Hamas leaders make clear that the group's military branch - the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades - will not be disarmed or come under any PA supervision and will continue to grow as a powerful "resistance." The same applies to its intelligence and security apparatus. Just as Hezbollah maintains armed forces far superior to the Lebanese army and various secret services, so Hamas intends to expand its independent military units, which are already far larger and better equipped than the PA's National Security Forces. The reconciliation agreement has already produced important gains for the group. The PA has quietly removed the ban on Hamas political activities in the West Bank, and the movement has resumed public rallies, campaign meetings, and distribution of literature. This revival of open Hamas activities is affecting the PA's security organs. Despite their standing orders to foil terrorist activity, many mid-level officers and their subordinates are no longer certain if and when to intervene in Hamas gatherings. For example, Hamas-sponsored Koran reading sessions have often been a cover for recruitment into underground terrorist cells.