The Shia factor in the Levantine body politic is increasingly metamorphosing into a dangerous debacle. The Lebanese news media do not agree on much. But they have been almost at one in condemning the suicide bomb blast that rocked the predominantly Shia suburb of Janah in southern Beirut. As Al-Ahram Weekly went to press, it became apparent that the death toll was no less than 40 and fast rising. Lebanese Health Minister Ali Hassan Khali declared that the explosions also wounded more than 150 people. Initial reactions insinuated that jihadist and takfiri (fundamentalist) Sunni militias, both Lebanese and Syrian, were behind the Janah suicide bombings that occurred Tuesday morning. These groups have targeted Hizbullah strongholds in recent months in what several observers believe to be retaliation by Sunni Muslim militant Islamists for Hizbullah's role in Syria's civil war. Yet many such Sunni militant groups refuted the allegations and condemned the attacks. Both Iran and Hizbullah suspect a more militarily sagacious and politically savvy foe. In short, Israel. Speaking to Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV, Ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi, the Iranian chief envoy to Lebanon, pointedly identified the Iranian cultural attaché Sheikh Ibrahim Ansari as having been one of the victims of the blast. Roknabadi noted that Ansari only took his post in Lebanon a month ago and was overseeing all regional Levantine cultural activities, including Syria. Mere coincidence? Hizbullah has emerged as a key ally in the Syrian civil war. Indeed, Hizbullah officials have publicly boasted that without Hizbullah military backing, the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad would not last for two hours. “We tell those who carried out the attack that you cannot break our fighting spirit,” Hizbullah parliamentarian Ali Makdad told Al-Mayadeen television channel. “We know who committed this atrocious act. We got the message and we know who sent it and we know how to retaliate,” Makdad threatened in what many observers believe was a reference to Israel. Ambassador Roknabadi insinuated that Israel and Israeli agents in Lebanon were behind the blasts. “Whoever carried out the suicide bomb blasts was acting on Israeli instructions,” he said. The mid-morning blasts in Janah sent shockwaves across Lebanon. Not only is the neighbourhood a stronghold of Hizbullah, it also houses several key embassies beyond that of Iran, including Kuwait and several other diplomatic missions. The three-floor Iranian diplomatic mission in Beirut was severely damaged. And many of the victims, dead and injured, were innocent bystanders. Even though Janah district is in predominantly poor and deprived southern Beirut, it is a relatively wealthy neighbourhood where richer Shia Lebanese, Syrians and Iranians reside. Hizbullah's Al-Rasoul Al-Aazam Hospital immediately put out a call for people to donate blood. It is reported that thousands obliged, lining up in front of the hospital. Many of the injured were Asian and African domestic workers, cooks and street cleaners and drivers working for local Shia families. Were Tuesday's twin blasts in Janah a tragic blunder by anti-Shia Muslim zealots, a cynical and calculating blow by the Israelis, or a conspiracy of both to undermine the power and prestige of both Hizbullah and Iran? Until recently some would have suspected a different kind of conspiracy: one carried out by militias intent on spilling over the Syrian civil war into Lebanon. Thousands of Sunni Muslim miscreants, militant Levantines both Syrian and Lebanese, are now residing in Lebanon. And with both the Iranians and Hizbullah intensifying military operations inside Syria, tipping the balance in favour of Al-Assad, his Sunni Muslim opponents have reason to bring the battle elsewhere. For now, the Lebanese motto appears to be: Let's stick together. Is that feasible under these circumstances? Perhaps only if there is a consensus that Israel is the culprit. The dilemma for the perpetrators of this heinous crime that rocked Janah is that they may be damned if they keep silent, and damned if they speak out and admit their guilt. If it turns out to be the Israelis who masterminded or executed the Janah tragedy, most certainly no one, friend or foe, would think that they performed the political equivalent of a clever judo move. Neither Iran nor Hizbullah would be in the least terrorised, or deterred. If anything, the battle-hardened allies will strike back with vengeance.
