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levanon the only country in the modern middle east that was long dominated by christians today muslims are in the majority it's a society that has repeatedly been under threat. and this was not there have always been tensions between the different religious communities and to nominations in various ethnic groups in lebanon. suppose you don't find a spot iran the shiite hezbollah party of god has had a huge impact on the political fabric of lebannon. as far as critics would say yes that this does destabilize regime hezbollah supporters would say that as well as military strength is an asset for lebanon because it keeps israel away. in the civil war in syria the hezbollah militia defended the assad. regime now they're back and levon

on in stronger shape than ever. the model they are fighting to defend is the model of bashar assad which is the dictator she. bought just to watch the extent does hezbollah to term in the course of politics in lebanon. beirut the lebanese capital still bears the scars of a civil war that for more than 15 years crippled the city and the country as a whole see and i'm sorry i was among those who fall back then he was just 16 years old when he 1st held the weapon in his hands.

the civil war erupted in 1975 like virtually the entire country a route became a battlefield. the war initially saw christian militias fighting against the palestinian liberation organization and p.l.o. which was threatening to take control of beirut. if the hostilities then escalated into a broader conflict between christians and arab nationalists finally the israelis invaded and occupied southern lebanon in order to expel the p.l.o. from the country it was at this time that hezbollah was formed. the war claimed tens of thousands of lives and left the country devastated. the bad thing for years was a person who were. i don't speak about that.

that's why every 1520 years something some places will have to go. and they know how to destroy the buildings and they don't know didn't make a small house where they go they don't more anything about their life except the fighting. here in the middle of beirut in the no man's land between muslim and christian districts ziad sahaba and his former comrades in arms i'm meeting up in a cafe i want to break the silence surrounding events in the civil war there are lessons to be learned they say also including the conflicts with israel the last of which again shocked the country in 2006 he had screw colds meetings where all participants can talk about their wartime experiences. with out your. kids. but if i don't hear about that

a friend of mine was driving his car when a shell exploded behind him it. he looked in his mirror and saw a woman collapse he drove back to help her it was then that a 2nd shell exploded and killed him she. just doesn't get to. that for. a growing number of people are eager to talk of how it feels to be at the mercy of tanks and missiles. they also reflect on their own deeds. but. they were hurrying lose their guns to solve our problems is the biggest mistake of shooting and the main factor why we. do this is us and no it was a civil war itself. actually it was us who believe that by violent we can change the situation. what we what we did we destroyed our cancer.

among the biggest losers of the civil war were catholic christians the maronites and $943.00 france had relinquished its mandate power over levanon and the country became independent for years and decades afterwards the maronites held sway 11 on muslims druze orthodox christians and all other religious minorities have to accept the political and economic supremacy of the maronite christians defeated in the civil war had far reaching consequences from various groups as middle east analyst daniel gamma explains even on board of. lebanon was created in order to guarantee a christian majority it's an absolute exception in the history of the middle east a state was created with the help of the west and also with the help of the league of nations in which christians were in the majority and the word thus able to

determine the political developments in the country and before the lebanese civil war the christians had. joyed guaranteed privileges including a majority in parliament iran is after the war and through the agreements that were signed in its wake all this change and not today the christians no longer have those privileges that really you need now. after the civil war the cards will reshuffled the former warring parties agree to a strict system of proportional representation that at the same time took into account the needs and interests of the muslim population each religious minority was granted posts and privileges that they have defended right through to the present as a result however this multicultural society has been gradually disintegrating into its separate parts. over a 1000000 predominantly muslim refugees from syria a further upset in the social balance politically and economically lebanon is in a deep crisis that is further divide in the country.

a division of manifested in the road blocks which are found not only throughout beirut but also the entire country some of them date back to the civil war and the . christians formerly known as the fall lounge is led by sami gemayel a cylon of one of lebanon's most predominant political dynasties his uncle and brother were both assassinated and the less gemayel believes in lebanese democracy . we have a history of 80 years of democracy the only maybe country in the region where you have ex-president living in peace in their own country you have every 4 years in

the election you have. governments are being formed even if it takes time even if it's difficult to do it every time but at least you are doing it and it's a democracy process and this is a model that we. that you are willing to defend. but the political system in lebanon is now under greater threat than ever before the shiite hezbollah the party of god is growing in strength many of its supporters despise the lebanese state. and the last friday of the fasting month of ramadan hezbollah celebrates our could see all children slim day which goes back to the time if the arraignment later ayatollah khomeini an event that centers on the dome of the rock in jerusalem. is going to calls itself the party of resistance resistance to its own allegedly powerless state and resistance to israel.

all my life that that resistance has proved successful but by hezbollah not the state this resistance movement emerged the moment it became clear that the state was powerless to do anything oh well your state allowed us in the south of the country to be humiliated by the occupying israelis on a daily basis and the resistance movie. consists of all of these people here now so you can stay is an international day not just for us but for every country and with god's help in the near future we will put an end to israel's existence as long. as grassroots space is made up of many poor shiites who constitute roughly one quarter of the population in lebanon on the general secretary of hezbollah. is their idol. for decades he's been the head of the party and

the armed militia it's been years since nasr allah has appeared in public she's at the risk of assassination the list of enemies is long israel regards him as a primary terrorist target this evening his supporters i only get to see him on a big screen he said to a video message from a hiding place in the mountains so i don't. really have precision missiles capable of hitting all the central targets in the zionist entity. today on this 40th anniversary of jerusalem day let me state once again and tell the whole world that we have precision missiles and 11 on and in sufficient numbers to change the entire region once and for all. i never leave the i don't know you was how was i not we will follow you chant the

crowd i was and. let me tell the world that if the americans continue with their current policy we will build a factory in lebanon for precision missiles. no surveillance video appearances are closely monitored by governments in many other countries because hezbollah does not make it to threats. it has a track record of carrying out attacks on the us france and in particular israel hezbollah has been declared a terrorist organization by the us and israel the european union gives that designation only to its military wing.

over the years hezbollah has mounted numerous attacks on northern israel near the border with lebanon abducting soldiers targeting and killing civilians with missiles and using suicide bombers. in israel is abroad have also been the victims of terrorist attacks attributed to hezbollah a bombing in bulgaria and 2012 claimed the lives of 5 israeli tourists and their bus driver. yoram shi'ites are works of the institute for national security studies in tel aviv. hizbullah is definitely the most dangerous organisation but it's not only organisation isabella is a political party it's the social network it's a religious party and it's also an army it's a very well equipped army advanced army with sophisticated weaponry which were provided by the iranians and the syrians so we're not talking only about an

organization. hezbollah was formed in the 1990 s. in the bekaa plain on the border with syria today it also controls parts of beirut and the south of the country. during the civil war the has. militia force against israel offered all keep on the south of the country faced with a guerrilla war of attrition the israeli army eventually pulled out of lebanon in 2000 hezbollah claimed victory. nicholas blanford is a british journalist at the time he was writing for a lebanese daily newspaper is. with you go back to the lines in lines years back then israel was occupying

a strip of south lebanon and hezbollah was engaged in a daily resistance campaign fighting israel is background there was a general consensus within lebanon to support hezbollah to support hezbollah as resistance like that it is including from those that view has followed with some distrust is obviously an islamist organization with links to iran. the resistance of credentials helps hezbollah game popularity across the country. many towns in southern lebanon on about 100 kilometers from beirut every year tens of thousands of people flocked to the open air museum here. is a kind of hezbollah pilgrimage site celebrating the fight against israel it was opened in 2010 on the 10th anniversary of israel's withdrawal from lebanon it boasts an array of hezbollah war trophies including captured tanks and artillery

guns. yet hezbollah was originally founded to defend the shiites against they've been dominant muslim rivals the sunni's iran provided help in the form of funding and expertise but then the israelis invaded and occupied the south of the country. use of funds. has worked as a tourist guide ever since the museum opened he says it's his way of offering resistance the museum we found to begin with just to cherish the memory of the martyrs that they gave their lives to for this country or from the invaders. nature used to be a refuge and base for has been a fight as it was here that they dug themselves into the mountains and waged 2 guerrilla war which has split tent into

a success story. the media and the world are controlled by the zionist all pro zionist so we are not to teach the new generation what the resistance all about. this is all war just to give these people our side of the story. has been his version of history is that israel occupied southern lebanon and that hezbollah pushed up and systems into the israelis withdrew in fact hezbollah also mounted repeated attacks on its ocho enemy after that time. in 2006 hezbollah fired missiles at northern israel and in a cross border right abducted 2 israeli soldiers.

israel hit back launching a ground invasion and a series of air raids reaching as far as by route. more than 2000 people were killed most of them lebanese. the wall also cemented has been his status as being one of israel's principal enemies. israel is faced with and is challenge by an army that is using those guerrilla tactics that's what i call the thin story line and it is a very well trained very well equipped. with my intentions only jeopardize the stability of the region and it may create a war between israel and lebanon on the state of lebanon on which hizbullah has basically i-g. in the last couple of years israel has declared that hezbollah is the greatest

threat facing israel so we're not talking about a conflict not talking about syria or even iran but our non-state organizations such as allah is not perceived as the greatest threat to israel the. united nations troops have been stationed in southern lebanon since $978.00 their mandate to guarantee peace and security in the contested region but it proved an impossible task for a u.n. force that was far too small. in a beautiful state after the civil war and controlled by different religious groups the lebanese army existed in name only when 6 of its peacekeepers were killed in the war of 2006 the united nations changed its policy. since 2006 the un forces have had what is known as

a robust mandate which allows the use of force if necessary since then there have been only rare and confrontations at the border both sides are upholding the cease fire agreement to this day however a state of war still exists between israel and lebanon there are no diplomatic relations between the 2 countries. and the most serious crisis since the last war erupted at the end of 28 saying un troops have the job of securing the blue line the demarcation line between the 2 countries the israeli army discovered tunnels leading into israel evidently dug by hezbollah to render them a new. both the israelis poured concrete into the tunnels watching events from the lebanese side of the blue line a number of young men with hizbollah flags the militia has continued to store weapons in the area despite

a bad imposed 3 un resolution. lebanon has never recognized the state of israel there is no mutually accepted border between israel and lebanon on the blue line serves as a temporary solution. another unresolved issue is who the sheba farms belong to. an expired israel but lebanon lies claim to them exits to the hezbollah tunnels were discovered nima toula inside israel. television 150 kilometers south of the border with lebanon is israel's biggest city . and it now lies within the range of hezbollah missiles one of the factors behind the israel defense forces locating their center of operations deep underground beneath their headquarters.

is around slender size means that a short reaction time to attacks from outside is deemed vital to its survival it's on a closely monitors the activities of hezbollah that analyses show that hezbollah has grown in strength partly through the experience it has gained through the war in neighboring syria. the israelis see hezbollah in a wider strategic context in their eyes the shiite militia is 1st and foremost a proxy for the implementation of a rainy and plans. in the opinion of numerous a. service iran is trying to establish a land bridge from its own territory to the mediterranean with the aim of projecting an extended zone of influence including hezbollah the regime into iran now has close allies reaching from iraq and syria through to lebanon.

we see arabian attempts to create a lamp cord or from iran through about a 1000 kilometers more or less from iran all the way to lebanon through iraq and syria when we look at events in syria we care less about if the dictator or asked by bashar al assad regains control over the country are not what we are interested in is whether the iranians will be able to make this into yet another iranian. outpost military outpost against israel and we have said very clearly that we have no intentions to allow the iranians to do so. in recent years the israelis have launched hundreds of attacks on suspected to rein in targets in syria supplies destined for hezbollah have also been bombed in

a war that has yet to be declared. it's a shura or day of remembrance in beverage on this one of the most sacred sites on the shiite calendar the veterans of the hezbollah militia are honored. this man is said to have survived an unsuccessful attack on the israelis he says he would fight again. even in his state he claims it has below are planning an attack on television his revenge for his friend bombs dropped on by rage he would not hesitate to follow the call. that many of these men forged in syria. together with the iranian forces they have helped to keep syrian dictator bashar al assad and his regime in power it's estimated that in the process hezbollah lost more than 1500 combatants.

as well as power center is located in south beirut the die here as the suburbs annoying has a mainly shiite population here the self-styled party of god has established what it calls a martyrs cemetery. this is the last resting place of men who lost their lives in the wars against israel or in syria they include the son of hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah many relatives pay regular visits to the cemetery which lies close to downtown beirut. having a fallen soldier a so-called mosque in the family is seen as a distinction. and the headline and yes i have

family here 2 brothers and then uncle 3 martyrs he the market every mother even if she doesn't have any marjorie's must give her children encouragement and educate them to this and that is why as you know because we are fighting for our land and our honor and god willing we will set ourselves free because we refuse to live without dignity and it is a matter of either dignity or marja. yell cut on the. hezbollah encourages the veneration of those that cools ma says from an early age members of the mahdi scouts organization are prepared for war when they are just 8 years old they wear head bands bearing the words actual service oh hussein who signed the bin ali is the 2nd most important imaam revered by shiites the mahdi scouts are intended to fight against the enemies of the hezbollah in his name this song is the

passing of his son who is considered a mosque up he's a role model for the mahdi scouts. thought it was the god that i had out of the house was. the war and the families of those who have died in combat for hezbollah a given financial and material support has but also run schools and hospitals and has become an important social institution in lebanon but how is the organization financed with iranians voice been the main bankroller of hezbollah but hezbollah years ago diversified its portfolio and they have all kinds of revenue streams coming directly into the organization so a lot of it is charitable donations from wealthy shia businessman who support hezbollah respect has followed. the same applies on a smaller scale to hezbollah support base but they also have a whole array of business networks around the world some of them are just

illegitimate but they all provide farms you know coming to to hezbollah has called for. hezbollah continues to grow in power and influence and this shift in the denominational power structure in favor of the shiites the sunni's who are largely better off economically feel losing political influence even though it's traditionally a sunni who holds the most important deficit in the country back of prime minister . saad hariri who resigned in october 29th tain had hoped to curb the power of hezbollah like his father rafik hariri seen with him here on the poster he had tried to unite the lebanese under sunni leadership to this and he was prepared to make concessions to hezbollah. the billionaire building contract with lebanese saudi and french citizenship wanted to

up hold the legacy of his father. himself a former prime minister and assassinated in 2015. most of that in the very was a beacon of hope not only for lebanon and its national agenda he was also a figure with whom the sunni's identified the man who brought the cosmopolitan sunni elites back to the country. and who also had given greater emphasis to the sunni identity of lebanon and for the. saudi arabia self-appointed protector of the sudanese takes a critical view of attempts at reproach meant with the shiites feel he is the saudis side hariri to exert more pressure on hezbollah if not only because of its closeness to iran the saudis likewise. at their own strategic interests. the saudis were always eager to have

a foot in the door to wield power and i've been on this and they've achieved this and diverse ways your investments your property and government bonds that they purchased the schools of. the saudis big problem was that hariri placed so much faith and had not managed to suppress the interests of other powers to the benefit of saudi arabia person career it was my bill and i'm willing to take power away from hezbollah while on a state visit to the saudi capital riyadh november 2017 he surprisingly announced his resignation with a statement that completely contradicted his previous political line. out of the. going to sniping down because i cannot accept disappointing the lebanese people over the last few years and decades hezbollah with its arsenal has repeatedly presented us with a fait accompli. because. it

claims that these weapons are for offering resister. more but in fact they are being used against our brothers in syria yemen and even against lebanon last i looked. to this day it's unclear whether hariri was forced to step down it was only when french president emmanuel mccraw intervened that he was allowed to leave saudi arabia once back in lebanon hariri percentage his resignation political machinations that boost hezbollah's position a few months later the group registered and in fact electoral victory in a government headed by hariri they were represented with 2 cabinet posts for the 1st time. the party to this is the only opposition bertie in the middle really refused to be part of the deed the managed to get. to control the country. and today we

are fighting alongside with a lot of independent personalities and some groups from the civil society in order to form a larger position to the to the way lebanon is being governed today. has followed representatives really grant interviews to western media. as a recourse that means talking to their allies like you're seeing you have been a shiite and longstanding member of parliament. he says hezbollah is indispensable . as well of the moment is the seen by many people as a party that helped defeat boxes that helped liberate the lebanese territories and with all the threats continuously for the israelis that they're well above

lebanon a little bit there could be a at least the balancing power. in the mid 990 s. bahn held a ministerial post he currently heads the parliamentary committee on foreign policy he puts up resistance whenever the united states or international organizations like the world bank seen here meeting you have here trying to exert pressure on the lebanese government because of hezbollah. washington has once again demanded that the government to prod has a lot of power. something you have been finds completely unrealistic. to day as well as represented in parliament we have colleagues from spall and the same building there was other than in government and they have a. presentation i mean the represent the chunk of people of the country so as

lebanese i mean all the lebanese. factions have stated the mean. raising this issue in a negative way or asking us to put pressure here over who will lead to confrontation into a conflict within the country which is a difficult position for lebanon to go into law. when it's facing so much challenges that will destroy the country completely. hezbollah is almost so far too strong militarily to be driven out of lebanon the militia is said to number $25000.00 soldiers the party of god originally founded to represent the interests of the shiites in lebanon is now an established power factor throughout the middle east. as well as fighting syria as well as fighting iraq as well as fighting in yemen as

well as fighting the where it is involved in all the countries in the region and is dragging the ban on 2 problems lebannon didn't choose. might have suffered serious losses with many of its fighters being killed in syria but it is now in a position to engage and take maneuvers. the war in syria has enabled it to develop far beyond the military capacity it had in the wars against israel and hezbollah is now a powerful army and not just a militia and a flock of the army national army leads. the israeli army is already preparing for a new war with hezbollah. this is footage of a maneuver conducted in the north of the country and has been a reportedly has more than 120000 missiles at its disposal all of them potentially pointed at israel. i think it's safe to say that lebanon will probably be turned

into a car park in the next war but israel will be. it's like they haven't been heard since $948.00 the missiles and weaponry at the disposal of hezbollah now will bring the entire country of israel to a standstill. there will be no civilian traffic you know civilian maritime traffic people will all be in the bunkers there will be no one going to schools universities work for the duration of the conflict so this is a very sobering picture for any prime minister in israel as it is indeed for hezbollah we know what hizbullah is planning we know that they have precise weaponry that can hit with carried out a lot of explosive they are going to devastate our cities and to kill people in high numbers retaliation must be and i'm telling it from the even dovish point of view must be to stop with that in any cause. so far the principle of deterrent

has worked on both sides. no one wants a new conflict memories of the civil war a still vivid. now the lebanese too are realizing how dangerous has been its political course could be for the entire country even though up to now they have accepted the organization as a legitimate defend against israel. laurie hi tyrion is a popular blogger and activist she criticizes hezbollah's policy of sending its militia into conflicts elsewhere in the middle east she believes it increases the chances of war breaking out. here half as well though it is the lebanese hezbollah which defense lebannon. this is reality of our lives in. the same time

there is as well our which is the regional player and this is where the vision comes. the fact that hezbollah has become a state within a state is perhaps only part of a wider problem faced by lebannon that of politics being defined by religion. laurie high tyin organizers meetings for women who want to bridge the gods between the denominations. here christians and muslims are sitting at the same table only in this way she says can the country progress in the office so apart from one or 2 politicians the lebanese people have no voice in parliament with a microphone in front of them of course everyone speaks in the name of the lebanese people but in reality no one represents us as politicians are only concerned with defending the entrance of their particular religious denomination and in

a lot of forms if you thought a little hate them but it has to be possible for people to live in this country with their own convictions and there are prospects for changing things but this can only happen if we challenge the political and sectarian regime we need a secular state which also respects the interests of civil society. levanon has experienced much violence and enjoyed many conflicts this could almost prove to be a strength but there also needs to be a radical break with the past. tripoli the 2nd biggest city in lebanon is proof that the religious divisions and conflicts do not necessarily have to persist. up until a few years ago crossing syria straight meant taking your life into your own hands because fighting between rival muslim factions was

a daily occurrence and the people shooting at each other were naive as. sunis and alawite who used to belong to the same shia branch of islam especially sad used to be adversaries. of the from among the living. now they are working together to repair their neighborhood and its power lines. these young men are under 30 years old. many of them were still minors when they took up arms of a reconciliation project called march has brought them together for. their good honestly i thought it was a terrorist. says simeon an alawite about the man next to him in may last a devout sunni used to have nothing but contempt for the other whites. and.

i say that a lot has commanded me to attack anyone who attacks me. even if he is my brother. because the qur'an says that if anyone sins against you so you must sin against them. but that doesn't apply to him for what he's ok like all the other white guys from this district they're really fine lads really good hearted and polite to them and they will there's talk about how the much reconciliation project was launched by labor rudi from beirut she's. vince that the religious conflicts are no facade. i honestly believe that the sectarian divides in our minds are here out of fear and simply out of fear because we are afraid that the other is going out to get us or out to eliminate us. and my ideas is this is the solution is we need to talk to

each other we need to spend time with each other and get to know each other so that this fear that comes from you know many places and from the past from what you've been through you know get get there's always because we know each other the problem is that we do not know each other and are afraid of each other. up the. skepticism is understandable what works in tripoli might not have the same positive effect in the rest of the country hezbollah has fought hard to secure a position in which it is a decisive political economic and military factor. and as long as religious goals persist whether between christians sunni's or shiites they will continue to determine the political and economic structure of lebanon and the country will struggle to emerge from the ongoing crisis while fundamentalism become

stronger and stronger. spent his whole working life storming into my soon hours 450 continuous. just i was told her i would just give the order in order to marry. here in kentucky one minor after another contract black lung disease. or say more cases than we ever have an in out and states. leaving the victims to food for themselves global 3000. and 30 minutes on d w. they sound entices but are

a drain on natural resources guitars made of african the many. tourists across the region are threatened the american guitar builder is taking responsibility for. financing 70 reforestation. eco africa. 90 minutes on d w. a says he plans morrow we symbol of along comes late in the philippines between the muslims and the christian population. would play as fighters occupied the city center in 2017 president due to his response was.

this is not the kind of freedom that we. coded morello we become a gateway to islamist terror. an exclusive report from a destroyed sitting. in the sights of i.s.i. starts may 20th on g.w. . this is state of the news and these are our top stories right now has europe's highest death toll from the coronavirus overtaking italy the latest figures show that the virus has killed more than 32000 people you could doctors say not enough testing was done in the early stages of the epidemic.