Lebanese journalist: ‘Why doesn’t Israel liquidate Nasrallah?’
Lebanese Journalist Maria Maalouf, known for her anti-Hezbollah stance stirred quite a public uproar following a series of tweets: ‘If Israel considers Nasrallah an enemy, why has it not carried out an airstrike to relieve us of him?’
Maalouf, who belongs to the Christian-Maronite community, is well-known for her hawkish attitudes toward Hezbollah and the Syrian regime. In recent days, she wrote, "If Israel really wants peace, then it should go ahead and prove it by signing an agreement with Hezbollah. To this day, we have yet to rid ourselves of Hassan Nasrallah, who had led us awry in his war against it."
She then further wondered: "If Israel considers Hassan Nasrallah an enemy, then why hasn’t it carried out an airstrike to relieve us of this burthen?”
As expected, reactions were quick to follow and included quite a few insults. "Israel should carry out an attack to relieve us from you, and anyone like you, you filth," wrote one respondent.
At the same time, there were those who argued that this would not happen because Nasrallah and Israel go together. "Hassan Nasrallah, the Satan, what concerns him is to defend Iran and the Jews. May Allah take them both at once," wrote another.
This is not the first time controversial Maalouf gets into a bind, as she has also been known to work for vehemently anti-Hezbollah TV channels in Lebanon.
Much like in other cases, there are those who are trying to encourage the authorities to silence Maalouf. Two lawyers have filed a complaint against Maalouf with the Lebanese Public Prosecutor’s Office on a number of charges, including incitement to murder, conspiring with the enemy, a crime against the state, weakening national sentiment and increasing racial and religious fanaticism, as well as incitement to civil war and ethnic conflict.
Maalouf, however, has not remained passive and wrote a sarcastic tweet aimed at Shiites, sayin that she was shocked that “anyone who spoke ill of the purest woman on earth, Aisha, is also speaking ill of Maria Maalouf for going against terrorist Hezbollah and Iran." Aisha was one of Prophet Mohammed’s wives and is often considered to have been his favorite, but is especially despised by the Shiites. These days, it seems they are having a difficult time deciding who they hate more—her or Maalouf.
On the backdrop of Maalouf’s controversy, Deputy Commander of the Dubai Police, Dhahi Khalfan, posted several surveys on his Twitter account regarding Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasralla, in an attempt to show how hated he actually is by the Arabs.
The surveys included the following questions: "Would you like to send a message to Nasrallah that he is a traitor of the nation?" And "Is Hassan Nasrallah a hero or a criminal to you?"
Other surveys included: "What would you say to Nasrallah, if you were to catch him? 1. May Allah guide you. 2. You would imprison him for life. 3. You would execute him because he is a murderer," and "You think getting rid of Nasrallah is: 1. Most essential. 2. Not important. 3. I don’t know."
At last, Khalfan signed with, "I hope Nasrallah sees the polls so that he understands how hated he is in Arab society."
(Translated and edited by N. Elias)
