By Jonathan WrightReuters, BEIRUT (Reuters) – Abu Abbas, a car dealer from south Lebanon, has ready answers to the litmus-test question which has traditionally split his country down the middle — whether it should opt out of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Lebanon is an inseparable part of the Arab world, he says, and conflict with Israel is inevitable as long as any Arab land remains under Israeli occupation or Israel even exists.When I see Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank suffering every day, the victims of racism and destruction, I consider that to be an attack on all humanity," said the 30-year-old bachelor, who supports the Shi’ite Muslim movement Hizbollah.
Abu Abbas lives in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where hundreds of thousands of Shi’ite Muslims from the South have settled over the past three decades and where the Shi’ite guerrilla movement has a large and loyal following.Shi’ites say Hizbollah and its weapons are needed to defend Lebanon against Israel, but many disagree in a country where politics have always been shaped by sectarian divisions, which fueled a long civil war.Poorer than average, under-represented in the religion-based system which governs Lebanese politics but demographically on the rise, the Shi’ites feel empowered by the outcome of the one-month war between Israel and Hizbollah in July and August."The Divine Victory" and "A Victory from God" read the slogans on Hizbollah billboards along Hadi Hassan Nasrallah Avenue, a main street named for the eldest son of Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.Hadi died fighting the Israelis in 1997 and the slogans are a tribute to the family name, which means "God’s victory" in Arabic. Less than 2 miles away, in the middle-class Christian-dominated district of Ashrafiyeh, the mood is rather different after the latest round of conflict with Israel. Ashrafiyeh Christians now offer a more diverse range of opinions, reflecting the political divisions within the Christian community and their more modest ambitions.
Ashrafiyeh Christians now offer a more diverse range of opinions, reflecting the political divisions within the Christian community and their more modest ambitions.
Some of their politicians are allied to the pro-business and anti-confrontation faction which dominates the government, while others are loyal to former General leader Michel Aoun, who has formed an understanding with Hizbollah on nationalist grounds.
Far from promoting secession or reliance on a sectarian militia, some Christians said they favored strengthening the Lebanese state and sayHizbollah had fought for a just cause and had shown impressive military prowess against Israel.
But Tony Khouri, a driver in his 50s, said: "Lebanon should withdraw from any conflict and be neutral. Bigger states like Egypt have pulled out and Egypt has 70 million people."
"All of us are for the state, a strong state and a strong army, and we don’t care for the political parties. Hizbollah should close down and its fighters join the army," he added.
But even Khouri blamed Israel for the latest war, which killed close to 1,200 people in Lebanon — most of them civilians who died in Israeli air raids and shelling — and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
"It’s Israel that did all the damage. Israel is famous for its destruction. What does Hizbollah have to do with the Jounieh bridge, for example?" he said, referring to a bridge north of Beirut, in an area where Hizbollah has no presence.
The war also exposed the weakness of the Beirut government. Critics of the system say a stable and strong state requires an end to the sectarian system of government in which official posts are assigned on the basis of religion.
Back in Beirut’s Shi’ite suburbs, Abu Abbas said he saw no need for Nasrallah to give up war against Israel, disarm his military wing or turn himself into a mainstream politician.
"For us, jihad (holy war) is a duty and as long as Israel exists there cannot be peace. People are proud of their martyrs. In fact, the martyrs don’t die. It is us who are dead," he said.
