Few Arab Nations Sympathize with Hezbollah, Hamas

Following up on a comment I left at Daddio's Darkside yesterday-- 15 comments down...

"Oddly enough-- though not that odd at all --Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and several other Islamic countries are NOT actively condemning Israel for their actions against their terrorist-tormentors."

...I was surprised to so quickly find confirmation of what was evident by the lack of vocal Arab dissent on the evening news-- Western as well as Middle Eastern.

Arab world fed up with Hizbullah
By Khaled Abu Toameh (Note please the name... definitely NOT Israeli)

With the exception of the Palestinians, the Arab world appears to be united in blaming Iran and Syria for the fighting in Lebanon. Until last week, Arab political analysts and government officials were reluctant to criticize Hizbullah in public. But now that Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his top aides are in hiding, an anti-Hizbullah coalition is emerging not only in Lebanon, but in several other Arab countries as well.

...

The anti-Hizbullah coalition, which appears to be growing with every Israeli missile that drops on the heads of Hizbullah leaders and headquarters, is spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. These three countries, together with many Arab commentators and political analysts, are convinced that the leaders of Teheran and Damascus are using Hizbullah to divert attention from Iran's nuclear program and Syria's involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

...

Wadi Batti, an Iraqi columnist, said the Arabs should realize that militias and gangsters will only worsen their conditions. "The Lebanese example confirms the fears of Arabs about the presence of armed militias that threaten our stability and security," he wrote.

"By initiating the confrontation with Israel, Hizbullah has made a mockery of the Lebanese government and leaders, who are now seen as pawns in the hands of Nasrallah. How long will the Arabs continue to fight on behalf of Iran?"

Echoing the mood among most of his Lebanese fellow Christians, Joseph Bishara said: "Hizbullah is trying to provoke Israel into war to divert attention from the mistakes made by the Syrian and Iranian regimes. Bashar Assad and Ali Khamenei are using Hizbullah to achieve their direct and indirect goals in the region. They used Hizbullah to ease the pressure exerted by the international community on Syria and Iran.

"How can we ask Israel to have mercy on the Lebanese while Hizbullah is betraying Lebanon day and night?"

Hezbollah and Hamas may have no other choice but to surrender their captives, and cease hostilities. It not clear whether they will consider this a viable option, for just as they viewed as weakness Israels pulling out of southern Lebanon six years ago, and Gaza last year, they may decide pulling out of this present conflict will do them no favors in the future. They may well see such a capitulation as a betrayal of their base... though they've done as much by continuing their attacks on Israel, who has shown more restraint than the U.S. has ever shown.

What the world fails to understand in all this is that God loves Israel and has, and will continue, to defend her. Perhaps this is why the rest of the world hates Israel so very much... because they hate God.