BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah is preparing for a massive turnout for the funeral on Sunday of its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, an opportunity for a show of strength by the Iran-backed group after a bruising war with Israel.
Nasrallah’s death nearly five months ago in a huge Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs left Hezbollah supporters in disbelief and sent shockwaves across Lebanon and the region.
The country will stop for Sunday’s funeral, to be held at 1:00 p.m. (1100 GMT) at the Camille Chamoun sports stadium on the capital’s outskirts.
Hezbollah has announced strict security measures and urged security forces to help manage crowds that are expected to number in the tens of thousands, with people pouring in from Hezbollah strongholds across the country, as well as from abroad.
Hassan Wehbe, 60, an electrician in Beirut’s southern suburbs, said the funeral would be “a historic day.”
“There will be huge participation. Israel will see that we are not afraid,” he said.
Hezbollah has invited senior Lebanese officials including the president.
Its key foreign backer Iran has said it will participate “at a high level,” without specifying who will attend.
Nicholas Blanford, a Beirut-based Hezbollah expert and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said it was important for Hezbollah “to be able to demonstrate that they haven’t been cowed — that they are still a popular force” within the Shiite community.
The funeral “is going to be exactly the event for that,” he told AFP.
The ceremony is expected to last around an hour, including a speech by current leader Naim Qassem, who has called for a huge turnout.
A procession will follow to Nasrallah’s burial site near the airport road, now lined with yellow Hezbollah flags and images of him and other slain Hezbollah figures.
Civil aviation authorities said Beirut airport will close exceptionally and flights will be suspended from midday until 4:00 pm.
The US embassy has urged Americans to avoid the area.
Hezbollah was battered by more than a year of hostilities with Israel that culminated in two months of full-blown war before a ceasefire took effect on November 27.
After Nasrallah was killed on September 27, the group delayed his funeral due to security concerns.
The ceremony will also be for Hashem Safieddine, who was chosen to succeed Nasrallah before being killed in a later Israeli strike.
Safieddine will be buried on Monday in his southern hometown of Deir Qanun Al-Nahr.
The charismatic, bespectacled Nasrallah has long enjoyed cult status among his supporters.
For Ahmed Hallani, 35, taking part is “a religious and moral duty.”
Nasrallah is “our leader and the leader of our victories. We will stay beside him, alive or dead,” he said.
Iraqi Airways and Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines have increased services between Baghdad and Beirut ahead of the funeral.
Representatives of Iraq’s main pro-Iran factions are to participate, while several Iraqi lawmakers are expected to attend privately.
One of Hezbollah’s founders in 1982, Nasrallah was elected secretary-general a decade later after Israel killed his predecessor.
He won renown in the Arab world after Israel withdrew its troops from south Lebanon under relentless Hezbollah attack in May 2000, ending 22 years of occupation of the border strip.
Nasrallah’s years at the helm saw the group expand from guerrilla faction into the most powerful political force in Lebanon, only to be battered in the latest conflict.
Lebanon has said more than 4,000 people have been killed since hostilities began in October 2023, most of them after Israel ramped up its campaign in September, later sending in ground troops.
Among the dead are hundreds of Hezbollah fighters and a slew of senior commanders.
Israel has missed two deadlines to complete its withdrawal under the ceasefire agreement, and still has troops deployed in five places on the Lebanese side of the border after its latest pullback earlier this week.
Hezbollah readies massive funeral for slain leader Nasrallah
https://arab.news/9drtr
Hezbollah readies massive funeral for slain leader Nasrallah
- Hezbollah has announced strict security measures and urged security forces to help manage crowds
- Hassan Wehbe, 60, an electrician in Beirut’s southern suburbs, said the funeral would be “a historic day“
GCC praises Qatari, US efforts in Rwanda, DRC peace deal
- Fighting since 2021 between armed groups has intensified in the mineral-rich eastern DRC
- Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said Qatar’s role in driving the agreement signals growing involvement of GCC countries in supporting peaceful solutions
LONDON: Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, praised Qatar and the US for their mediation efforts that led to the signing of the peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Albudaiwi hoped the agreement would reduce tensions and contribute to security and stability, fostering regional prosperity and international peace. Since 2021, fighting between armed groups has intensified in the mineral-rich eastern DRC, which has vast reserves of cobalt, coltan, lithium, tin and gold.
The peace agreement between the two countries raises hopes for an end to the fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of others, he said.
Albudaiwi added that Qatar’s role in driving the agreement shows a growing involvement of GCC countries in supporting peaceful solutions and promoting security and stability in various regions worldwide.
The GCC is committed to diplomacy and dialogue to address crises and achieve sustainable development, he said.
Israeli court postpones Netanyahu appearance in graft trial
- Trump on Saturday said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the United States was “not going to stand” for the continued prosecution
- In one of the cases, he and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods
JERUSALEM: An Israeli court on Sunday postponed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in his corruption trial after he requested a delay, as US President Donald Trump called for the case to be thrown out.
“Following the explanations given... we partially accept the request and cancel at this stage Mr.Netanyahu’s hearings scheduled” for this week, the Jerusalem district court said in its ruling, published online by Netanyahu’s Likud party.
Netanyahu’s lawyers had asked the court to excuse him from testifying over the next two weeks so he could focus on security issues following a ceasefire with Iran and amid ongoing fighting in Gaza where Israeli hostages are held.
They had submitted Netanyahu’s schedule to the court to demonstrate “the national need for the prime minister to devote all his time and energy to the political, national and security issues at hand.”
The court initially rejected the lawyers’ request but said in its ruling on Sunday that it had changed its judgment after hearing arguments from the prime minister, the head of military intelligence and the chief of the Mossad spy agency.
Trump on Saturday said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the United States was “not going to stand” for the continued prosecution, prompting Netanyahu to thank him in a message on X.
Earlier in the week, the US president had described the case against the Israeli premier as a “witch hunt,” saying the trial “should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid reacted by saying that Trump “should not interfere in a judicial trial in an independent country.”
Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing in the corruption affair and his supporters have described the long-running trial as politically motivated.
In one of the cases, he and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods such as cigars, jewelry and champagne from billionaires in exchange for political favors.
In two others, Netanyahu is accused of attempting to negotiate more favorable coverage from two Israeli media outlets.
The prime minister has requested multiple postponements to the trial since it began in May 2020.
During his current term, which started in late 2022, Netanyahu’s government has proposed far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say were designed to weaken the courts and prompted massive protests that were only curtailed by the onset of the Gaza war.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 that aired on Saturday, former prime minister Naftali Bennett accused Netanyahu of deepening divisions in Israeli society, and said that he “must go.”
Netanyahu “has been in power for 20 years... that’s too much, it’s not healthy,” Bennett said.
The former right-wing premier managed to form a coalition in 2021 that ousted Netanyahu from the premiership after 12 consecutive years, but it collapsed before the end of the following year.
Bennett is rumored to be planning a comeback, with public opinion polls suggesting he may have enough support to oust Netanyahu again. He declined to comment on that prospect in Saturday’s interview.
Egyptian foreign minister urges recognition of Palestine in talks with EU envoy to Middle East
- Badr Abdelatty met in Cairo with Christophe Bigot, EU special representative for the Middle East peace process
- Abdelatty’s remarks followed those of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who said France is ‘determined to recognize the state of Palestine’
LONDON: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Sunday emphasized the urgent need to recognize Palestinian statehood on the territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He made his comment during a meeting in Cairo with Christophe Bigot, the EU’s special representative for the Middle East peace process. Abdelatty said that the establishment of a Palestinian state is the only way to achieve lasting peace, security and stability in the region, the Wafa news agency reported.
He hoped for the broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and for the organization of an international conference aimed at resolving the Palestinian issue through peaceful means.
Abdelatty’s remarks followed those of French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who said on Sunday during an interview with the French LCI news channel that France is “determined to recognize the State of Palestine,” emphasizing the urgent need for international action in light of the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
A French-Saudi conference to drum up international support for the recognition of the state of Palestine was due to start in mid-June, but the organizers postponed it because of the Iranian-Israeli conflict and elevated tensions in the region.
“We are committed to recognizing the state of Palestine, and this will happen as part of a joint initiative that encourages all parties to create the necessary conditions for the establishment of that state,” Barrot said.
He called the killing of hundreds of Palestinian aid seekers by Israeli forces in recent weeks in Gaza “a disgrace and an affront to human dignity.”
Syria denies reports of assassination attempt on President Al-Sharaa
- SANA did not provide further details about the reported incident or its origins
DAMASCUS: Syria’s Ministry of Information on Sunday denied reports that an attempt was made on the life of interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa during a recent visit to the southern city of Daraa, Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
A ministry source, quoted by state news agency SANA on Sunday, dismissed the claims as false, saying: “What was circulated by several media outlets about the Syrian Arab Army and Turkish intelligence foiling an assassination attempt on President Ahmad Al-Sharaa during his visit to Daraa is untrue.”
SANA did not provide further details about the reported incident or its origins.
Al-Sharaa has led the Syrian Arab Republic’s transitional administration since January, following the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime. Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly a quarter of a century, fled to Russia in December.
Israeli security service says 60 Hamas members arrested in West Bank
HEBRON: Israel’s security service said Sunday it had broken up a network of Hamas militants in the occupied West Bank suspected of planning attacks, arresting 60 of the group’s members.
The Shin Bet internal security agency said in a statement that “a significant, complex, and large-scale Hamas infrastructure was exposed” in the West Bank town of Hebron.
It said it broke up 10 militant cells that “operated to carry out attacks in various formats in the immediate time frame.”
Hamas leaders “worked to recruit, arm, and train additional Hamas operatives from the area to carry out shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli targets,” according to the statement.
Shin Bet said the three-month joint operation with the military and police was its biggest investigation in the West Bank “in the past decade.”
It said terrorism charges were being filed against the suspects.
Hamas did not immediately comment on the statement.
