Untitled Document

[00:00:03] [Music] [00:00:08] Hello everyone, Manar Adi here for our [00:00:10] official podcast for Mit Press News. As [00:00:13] part of its war on its neighbors, Israel [00:00:16] continues to bomb Lebanon and virtually [00:00:18] the only resistance to this comes from [00:00:21] Hezbollah. Hoping to destroy the group [00:00:23] once and for all, last September, Israel [00:00:26] carried out a successful assassination [00:00:28] strike against Hezbollah leader Hassan [00:00:30] Nasallah. Yet the organization was not [00:00:33] broken. Now the US has come up with a [00:00:36] new plan to defeat Hezbollah, force it [00:00:38] to disarm. Washington has announced a [00:00:41] plan to push the only resistance to [00:00:43] Israeli aggression in Lebanon to give up [00:00:46] their weapons with the US ambassador [00:00:48] reportedly even succeeding in getting [00:00:51] the Lebanese government to sign off on [00:00:53] the idea which would mean the Lebanese [00:00:55] army foreseeing the action. But what [00:00:58] would it be in for Hezbollah? And if [00:01:01] Hezbollah were to disarm, would that [00:01:02] open the door for another invasion by [00:01:05] Israel of the country to capture more [00:01:08] Lebanese land? Joining me to discuss the [00:01:10] US and Israel's plans for Lebanon is [00:01:13] Gadi Francis Gadi is an author, a [00:01:15] journalist, and a war correspondent from [00:01:18] South Lebanon. She is one of the most [00:01:20] principled and in incisive voices [00:01:22] covering Lebanon in English. Although [00:01:24] you might find it hard to keep up with [00:01:25] her work as Meta recently suspended her [00:01:28] Instagram account. This is her second [00:01:31] appearance on the show. Radi welcome [00:01:33] back. [00:01:35] >> It's good to be back Manar and thank you [00:01:37] and all the colleagues in Mintress for [00:01:39] their solidarity with my band. It feels [00:01:42] good to be banned. You know it it's a [00:01:44] validation that we're really getting [00:01:46] through. our voice is getting through [00:01:49] and in general the amount of solidarity [00:01:52] and uh I reached uh around 1 million [00:01:55] people in 10 days. So this tells you [00:01:58] that that the voice is there and they [00:01:59] cannot even silence us anymore. [00:02:02] >> Absolutely. And I think it you know I [00:02:05] don't really think that this is a [00:02:06] coincidence um considering the timing [00:02:09] that you were banned from Instagram. You [00:02:11] were taken down. You are one of the most [00:02:14] important and viral voices coming out of [00:02:17] Lebanon to cover and report on Israel's [00:02:21] war on the south of Leban Lebanon. And [00:02:24] so um there's no question that this was [00:02:28] a direct target and attack against you. [00:02:31] But you know you do have our support and [00:02:34] we will stand with you um on social [00:02:37] media and you know bring you on and [00:02:38] allow your voice to not be silenced. And [00:02:41] so, as I said in the intro, the United [00:02:44] States is pushing a plan to disarm [00:02:46] Hezbollah. And in this endeavor, it has [00:02:49] the support of the Lebanese government [00:02:51] itself in Beirut. What is the the US [00:02:54] hoping to achieve here? [00:02:57] Well, Manar, when we put it like that in [00:03:00] this sentence and we highlight it, it [00:03:02] may look like it's something new, but if [00:03:04] we put it in the context, uh, here in [00:03:07] Lebanon, the idea of disarmament of [00:03:10] Hezbollah has been going around by the [00:03:12] US and its spawns in Lebanese politics [00:03:15] for over a decade. It's it's actually [00:03:18] been there since the start of in the 80s [00:03:22] because anybody who is armed against [00:03:24] Israel is always uh cornered by US [00:03:28] policies in the Middle East in general [00:03:31] and in Lebanon. And the United States [00:03:34] has always been influential in internal [00:03:36] Lebanese politics. Ever since the start [00:03:38] and the beginning of Lebanon, the [00:03:41] colonial powers, the western colonial [00:03:43] powers had uh around half of the [00:03:46] Lebanese politics. Now the new order in [00:03:49] Lebanon is to have voices against that [00:03:52] because Lebanon was shaped after the [00:03:54] Sykes Pico in a way to be always with [00:03:56] the west. So the idea of disarmament of [00:03:59] Hezbollah is not the it's not the first [00:04:02] time that we hear it. Of course, the [00:04:04] pressure is more intense and after the [00:04:06] rec the most recent war last year, it's [00:04:09] uh it it has echoes inside Lebanese [00:04:12] politics. Many of opponents feel [00:04:15] empowered because of the assassination [00:04:17] of Susallah and many of the leaders and [00:04:20] the full-blown war. But in in other [00:04:23] terms, you can see it in a different way [00:04:26] that the United States wants what it [00:04:28] always wanted and they think they're [00:04:31] reaching better grounds to uh to press [00:04:35] in that matter and yes, they have a [00:04:37] government that is all in their favor in [00:04:39] favor of Saudi Arabia and the Americans. [00:04:42] the prime minister is obviously uh [00:04:46] totally aligned or you can I can [00:04:48] unapolog unapologetically say he's a [00:04:51] pong because uh right now today uh and [00:04:56] every day people uh in Lebanon Lebanese [00:04:59] citizens, civilians, families, children [00:05:02] uh people are being killed and drones [00:05:06] are flying above our heads and the [00:05:08] invasion is ongoing one way or the other [00:05:10] because Israel is is expanding its uh [00:05:15] places on the Lebanese soil in South [00:05:17] Lebanon and you can't see one statement [00:05:19] from the prime minister uh or if they [00:05:22] have a statement it's like a shy [00:05:24] statement whereas his whole um his whole [00:05:29] uh force right now and his whole policy [00:05:32] is how to further escalate the tension [00:05:35] withah whether it's as a group or as [00:05:38] politicians or even now it's gone down [00:05:40] to activists uh trying to imprison [00:05:44] someone trying to uh make some u some of [00:05:49] the uh non-governmental organizations [00:05:52] that are just uh cultural organizations [00:05:56] trying to uh make them illegal and so [00:05:58] on. So we are living in the times where [00:06:00] the government is totally pro- Saudi [00:06:03] Arabia, pro the United States of [00:06:05] America. But on the ground, Hezbollah [00:06:08] wasn't armed by these. It wasn't given [00:06:11] power by these. It wasn't founded by [00:06:14] these. And on the contrary, it has [00:06:16] always been on the other side and has [00:06:19] always fought such pressure. So this [00:06:22] will tell you yes, there is tension. The [00:06:24] tension is escalating in the internal [00:06:26] front, in the local politics in Lebanon. [00:06:28] Yes, this is unquestionable but it [00:06:31] doesn't really change the facts that [00:06:33] they have tens of thousands of militants [00:06:38] used to say used to say we have 100,000 [00:06:42] fighters. So after this war it is known [00:06:46] it's a known fact that around 10,000 [00:06:49] uh were injured and killed 10 to 15,000. [00:06:54] So there's a there's another 70,000 to [00:06:58] say the least that's still there. This [00:07:00] is aside from the recruitment, the new [00:07:02] recruitment and so on. So where have [00:07:04] they gone? Have they evaporated? No. Or [00:07:07] to speak about the arms. The disarmament [00:07:10] can happen only after certain [00:07:13] concessions are made from the Israeli [00:07:15] part. This has always been what said [00:07:18] even in 2005, 2006, 2007, even when was [00:07:23] alive. They used to say we are not going [00:07:26] to hand our weapons unless there will be [00:07:30] a they call it in Arabic the strategy [00:07:34] a strategy of defense for the country [00:07:36] where which the people of South Lebanon [00:07:39] uh know for for for good and for real [00:07:42] that they will be protected that the [00:07:44] soil of Lebanon will be protected [00:07:46] because the resistance in Lebanon came [00:07:48] as a reaction man because before there [00:07:51] was a resistance there was an occupation [00:07:53] in south Lebanon and there were Israelis [00:07:56] and and [00:07:58] Israeli forces ruling and oppressing [00:08:02] people of Lebanon. So now when we want [00:08:04] to speak about disarmament of Hezbollah [00:08:06] locally, there's something that has to [00:08:08] come before we have to flee our whole [00:08:11] land. There are many checkpoints or many [00:08:13] places in uh the borderline, the [00:08:15] southern borderline where Israel is [00:08:17] still there and still expanding. and we [00:08:20] have to uh give concessions and give [00:08:23] insurance to the people that they will [00:08:25] not be stried. This hasn't stopped. This [00:08:28] is why it's just like uh throwing around [00:08:30] a hot potato, but on the ground there's [00:08:34] nothing that's making sense. [00:08:37] And you just presented to us that this [00:08:39] is obviously not a new pressure to [00:08:41] disarm by the United States and Israel. [00:08:44] And you know, Israel has been targeting [00:08:46] and attacking Lebanon for a very, very [00:08:48] long time. I mean, it sounds like the [00:08:50] government of Lebanon, there's a [00:08:52] chokeold on it by the US, by the Saudi [00:08:54] government, and by the Israelis. So, how [00:08:57] realistic is it that Hezbollah would [00:09:00] actually disarm? And if they are [00:09:03] refusing, which they are, would the [00:09:06] Lebanese government or military actually [00:09:09] take action? And I don't want to give [00:09:12] you too many things to answer at once, [00:09:13] but like if that were to happen, are we [00:09:16] would we witness a civil war inside of [00:09:18] Lebanon? [00:09:21] Well, even this even this kind of um [00:09:25] scenario has been played in the Lebanese [00:09:28] past because we have been on that front [00:09:31] ever since the Palestine was taken. Ever [00:09:34] since the occupation started and [00:09:36] something called Israel was planted on [00:09:39] our borders since day one in 1948, the [00:09:43] first massacre happened in Hoola, a [00:09:45] southern town. Today a massacre happened [00:09:50] in the most recent war a massacre [00:09:51] happened in Hoola again. So uh this has [00:09:56] played out the scenarios all the [00:09:58] scenarios have played out. I will take [00:09:59] you back to the year 1982 when the [00:10:01] Israelis invaded Lebanon they reached to [00:10:04] Beirut and after they they were able to [00:10:07] make many victories. [00:10:10] there was in power uh a president that's [00:10:14] pro- Israel, [00:10:16] an army half of the army was pro- Israel [00:10:19] and a PM that was pro-Israel and there [00:10:22] were people who were wanting to [00:10:23] normalize and there were actually we we [00:10:26] it's designated as May 17th convention [00:10:29] in in Lebanon. It was an actual [00:10:32] normalization deal, a total giving up [00:10:35] deal with the Israelis that happened in [00:10:38] the Lebanese history. But that was [00:10:40] turned over again by the Lebanese [00:10:42] people. So we have reached in our past [00:10:45] places that were even worse than what we [00:10:47] are talking about today. But in the [00:10:50] present, this is not the status quo and [00:10:53] this cannot be the status quo. I will [00:10:55] take you down into the Lebanese politics [00:10:57] a little bit for you and your viewers. [00:10:58] First of all, the Lebanese army although [00:11:00] it has been uh befriended by the United [00:11:04] States in a way the Lebanese army [00:11:06] structure is from every sect and [00:11:08] everybody. So if you're talking about [00:11:10] this, you will witness the uh you will [00:11:13] witness the divisions of the Lebanese [00:11:15] army to start with because many people, [00:11:18] many generals, many um army leaders in [00:11:24] the Lebanese army are anti-Israel [00:11:27] because this is what Lebanon is about. [00:11:29] This is what the the the legal the [00:11:31] normal Lebanon is about. It's it's [00:11:34] illegal in Lebanon to even speak to an [00:11:36] Israeli. This is how we were brought up [00:11:39] and this is how these army leaders have [00:11:41] have been brought up. Second of all, the [00:11:44] actual man in charge today, the general [00:11:47] leader of the army, Rudolf Hik has been [00:11:50] obviously and vocally uh opposing any [00:11:54] clash with other Lebanese parties and [00:11:57] they say and he he's already said you [00:11:59] will not drive the Lebanese army into [00:12:01] confrontations with Lebanese people. So [00:12:03] this is what we've been witnessing on [00:12:05] the ground. Thirdly, and I want to take [00:12:08] you down to the ground reporting that I [00:12:10] have been doing in the south of Lebanon. [00:12:12] I've been giving the permits by the [00:12:13] Lebanese army and every town I go in the [00:12:16] borderline, there is presence of the [00:12:18] Lebanese army. Although it's not strong [00:12:20] enough, their presence is empowered on [00:12:23] Lebanese soil because of the sacrifices [00:12:25] of the Lebanese resistance. So on the [00:12:27] ground regardless of the politics there [00:12:30] is an intertwined organic relationship [00:12:33] between Hezib Lebanese army and Lebanese [00:12:36] citizens of the south and this has been [00:12:40] um started for more than two decades [00:12:43] this has been implemented by many [00:12:45] leaderships [00:12:47] but in case that happens in case they [00:12:50] will go into the disarmament ofah now [00:12:52] let's speak about politics if you have a [00:12:55] group that is they have the most votes [00:12:58] uh in every parliamentary elections. [00:13:01] We're talking about they have the [00:13:02] biggest block in the parliament and they [00:13:06] have hundreds of thousands of Lebanese [00:13:08] that vote for them that want them and [00:13:11] they have weapons. If they were to give [00:13:14] concessions and negotiations, they would [00:13:16] rule Lebanon. If they choose today in [00:13:19] politics to hand their weapons, what [00:13:20] would they take uh in return? just to [00:13:23] think about it. If they really make the [00:13:25] concession, if they really do give up [00:13:27] their weapons, they will be given [00:13:29] everything they want in the Lebanese [00:13:31] politics. [00:13:32] But this is not their ideology. I mean, [00:13:36] fortunately for the people of the south, [00:13:39] this is not their ideology up until now. [00:13:41] and the the the leaders of whether it's [00:13:45] orham [00:13:47] which is the the head of the [00:13:49] parliamentary block or anybody that is [00:13:51] speaking on behalf or representing right [00:13:53] now they're all saying you can take our [00:13:56] souls before you touch our weapons but [00:13:59] in the future if there's something else [00:14:01] if there's a different plan for [00:14:02] governing the south I don't think there [00:14:04] are uh any ultimatums yet you know [00:14:08] there's nothing final yet but maybe the [00:14:10] polic politics can be creative and there [00:14:12] would be some kind of shuffling of [00:14:15] powers if and only if and this is what [00:14:18] they're saying the reconstruction of the [00:14:21] south is done because you have over a [00:14:23] 100,000 homes that have been destroyed [00:14:27] so if you reconstruct as a government [00:14:29] you reconstruct the south you empower [00:14:31] the army enough to protect the people of [00:14:34] the south you give concessions and the [00:14:36] United States can give us valid valid [00:14:39] uhh um insurance that the Israelis will [00:14:43] not invade or hit again. Then and only [00:14:45] then we would give our weapons. This is [00:14:47] what they're saying. But meanwhile, you [00:14:50] have Tom Barak, the the US envoy in the [00:14:54] the region and in he says we cannot [00:14:57] promise you anything from the Israeli [00:14:58] part. Israel, he says it in interviews, [00:15:02] Israel can strike whatever they want. [00:15:04] Sides Spo is done. Israel can do [00:15:07] whatever they want and wherever they [00:15:09] feel the danger they can strike. Israel [00:15:11] strike Qatar, Israel strike Iran, Israel [00:15:14] strikes Yemen, strikes Syria, wherever [00:15:17] they want, they strike. So in the [00:15:19] meanwhile, there's nothing to really [00:15:21] tell the people of the south or Hezb or [00:15:24] the Lebanese people in general that [00:15:26] there's nothing that would ensure that [00:15:28] the next day of no weapons will be the [00:15:31] day of an invasion and a genocide [00:15:33] because we are speaking about a regime [00:15:34] that starves children to death that [00:15:36] kills uh journalists and doctors that [00:15:40] actually uh we don't know we have no [00:15:43] idea about the doctors that have been [00:15:44] abducted from [00:15:46] one of them was died after being raped. [00:15:51] So we are not talking about a regime [00:15:53] that respects any kind of human or or [00:15:56] international law. What concessions can [00:15:59] who give us as Lebanese before they tell [00:16:02] us to disarm ourselves and who would [00:16:05] protect the people of Lebanon and the [00:16:06] people of South from a fullon uh [00:16:09] invasion and bombing if it weren't for [00:16:13] these kind of um unequal but still uh [00:16:17] respectable deterrence. [00:16:20] >> Absolutely. I mean, Hezbollah has so [00:16:22] much support on the ground inside of [00:16:24] Lebanon and like you said, they have uh [00:16:26] they hold the largest seat inside of [00:16:28] parliament and history has shown us that [00:16:32] whenever Israel agrees, you know, Israel [00:16:35] makes the agreement or another party [00:16:36] makes an agreement for some sort of [00:16:37] ceasefire or disarmament, Israel goes on [00:16:40] to attack and commit grave massacres. I [00:16:45] mean, we have the example of 1982. You [00:16:47] mentioned it. After an Israeli invasion, [00:16:49] the Palestinian Liberation Organization [00:16:51] agreed to lay down its arms as part of a [00:16:53] treaty. And once they did that, the [00:16:56] Israeli military carried out the Sabra [00:16:58] and Chhatila massacres, you know, [00:17:00] killing thousands of people. We also saw [00:17:02] what happened in Libya after Colonel [00:17:06] Gaddafi agreed to destroy his weapons of [00:17:07] mass destruction and the United States [00:17:10] ended up uh through NATO, bombing uh [00:17:15] Libya and turning it into a failed state [00:17:18] and dragging his body through the [00:17:20] streets after, you know, cutting him [00:17:22] open with a machete. Like it was just [00:17:24] disturbing disturbing violence. So, I [00:17:26] think a lot of people would agree that [00:17:28] the United States and Israel both don't [00:17:31] really have a history of respecting [00:17:33] human rights for them to be trusted. And [00:17:36] right now inside of Lebanon, [00:17:39] I I want to hear more about what the [00:17:41] current state of Israel's presence [00:17:43] inside of Lebanon because I think a lot [00:17:45] of people are under the impression that [00:17:46] there's some sort of ceasefire. Um, but [00:17:50] we both know that that's really not the [00:17:52] case. Can you tell us like what are [00:17:54] people in South Lebanon experiencing [00:17:56] right now? [00:17:56] >> There's a one-sided ceasefire, man. [00:17:59] >> Yeah. [00:18:00] >> The Lebanese part is not attacking [00:18:03] although they can. They're not hitting [00:18:06] not with rockets, not with shells, not [00:18:08] with missiles. They're doing nothing. is [00:18:12] really respecting a kind of ceasefire [00:18:14] from that part because every drone that [00:18:17] flies above Beirut can be hunted down [00:18:20] and every uh militant Israeli soldier [00:18:25] that is present on the Lebanese borders [00:18:28] can be hunted down. They have that [00:18:31] ability, but they're not doing anything. [00:18:34] But on the other hand, the Israelis [00:18:36] every day kill someone every day. Today, [00:18:42] I don't know when this interview would [00:18:43] be aired, but today [00:18:46] uh one of the pager attack uh injured [00:18:50] people, he's he's blind because of the [00:18:53] pager attack. Him and his wife, his wife [00:18:56] drives because he can't drive after he [00:18:58] was blinded by the Israeli attack. [00:19:02] They were going to get their children [00:19:03] from school and they were bombed [00:19:05] together in the middle of the day, in [00:19:06] the middle of the road with a buzzing [00:19:08] street. [00:19:10] Yesterday or the day before inside [00:19:13] another town, there was an attack on a [00:19:16] ci on a on a man. They say he's aah [00:19:19] militant, but meanwhile 10 people were [00:19:22] 10 other people were injured because he [00:19:24] was attacked in the middle of the day in [00:19:25] the middle of the road. And even if he's [00:19:27] a militant, according to the [00:19:28] international law, you cannot hit him [00:19:30] until unless it's in in a war. So you [00:19:35] cannot go on killing people and saying [00:19:37] they areah. This is a breach of the [00:19:39] international law. Since the day of the [00:19:42] ceasefire till date, more than 5,000 [00:19:44] times there have been a breach. Today we [00:19:47] refuse to call it a breach of the [00:19:48] ceasefire. It's an actual attack. [00:19:52] They are attacking people. Last week or [00:19:54] around 10 days ago, they killed the [00:19:56] whole they targeted the whole family. [00:19:59] The father died. Two toddler twins died [00:20:04] and a sevenyear-old girl died. The only [00:20:07] survivor is the mother and one of the [00:20:08] kids that is in a severe condition right [00:20:12] now. And they said they were oh sorry by [00:20:15] mistake we were killing someone passing [00:20:16] by. [00:20:18] They can they are empowered to do [00:20:20] anything around Lebanon because [00:20:21] unfortunately not even not the world is [00:20:24] not stopping them. The Lebanese [00:20:25] government is not speaking about it [00:20:26] because the Lebanese government has been [00:20:29] placed there to do that to to make [00:20:32] further pre pressure on and on the [00:20:35] resistance. But the breaches are there, [00:20:38] the killings are there. And if we want [00:20:41] to talk about their presence on the [00:20:43] ground at the borders during the war, [00:20:47] 66 days of war, 57 days of actual [00:20:50] combat, they weren't able to stay on one [00:20:55] acre of land in Lebanon. Not on one [00:20:57] acre, on one meter of land in Lebanon. [00:20:59] From the west to the east, the whole [00:21:02] borderline between South Lebanon and [00:21:05] occupied Palestine was not taken. The [00:21:10] Israelis continued to try to invade and [00:21:13] they continued to uh fail. They were [00:21:17] exactly as said they were marching [00:21:20] vertically and going back horizontally [00:21:23] for 57 days. Although there was a lot of [00:21:27] lessons on Hezbollah's side but they [00:21:29] fought and they deterred the ground [00:21:32] invasion after that so-called ceasefire [00:21:36] because there is a respect to the [00:21:37] so-called ceasefire andbah didn't fight [00:21:40] anymore they were able to take five [00:21:43] points on five mountains which are today [00:21:45] 12 they are expanding they are choosing [00:21:48] the mountains in Lebanon the border [00:21:50] mountains [00:21:52] that are strategic [00:21:54] and they are building their army sites [00:21:56] over there and they are building walls [00:21:58] over there and in the uh southernmost [00:22:01] border villages every time they want to [00:22:04] do anything. Sometimes you are sitting [00:22:06] in a cafe in it and you get some [00:22:08] artilleries uh or some threats. [00:22:11] Sometimes you might be uh just passing [00:22:14] by in it and a drone will come just next [00:22:18] to you and talks to you and tells you uh [00:22:21] bring down the window with they have [00:22:22] some speakers with them. They are [00:22:24] attacking the human life in the border [00:22:27] villages and they are trying to tell [00:22:29] everyone you're not safe here go away. [00:22:32] But the Lebanese resilience and [00:22:34] resistance which would they would never [00:22:36] understand is that people are staying [00:22:38] there. People are staying in their [00:22:39] border towns. They are reconstructing [00:22:41] with whatever their bare hands can do [00:22:43] with their with their own personal uh [00:22:46] savings or uh help from some [00:22:49] non-governmental organizations or some [00:22:51] people or some diaspora uh who are [00:22:54] empowering them or some families and [00:22:57] they are staying and they're [00:22:58] reconstructing with whatever they can [00:23:00] and they are claiming their ground. But [00:23:02] the Israelis are expanding on the hills. [00:23:06] They are expanding their kinds of [00:23:08] attacks. And there is not one day in [00:23:10] Lebanon since that ceasefire, not one [00:23:13] day without an attack, not one day [00:23:17] without drones uh penetrating our [00:23:19] airspace, not one day without our seas [00:23:23] being penetrated as well. They abducted [00:23:26] uh [00:23:28] fishermen and kidnapped them [00:23:32] after the war. They took people who were [00:23:35] returning. They we have an a 17-year-old [00:23:37] boy who was going back to his town the [00:23:40] next day of the ceasefire. They shot him [00:23:42] and they took him while he was injured [00:23:44] and now he's he's there. He's a hostage. [00:23:47] There's a man who grows sheep, you know, [00:23:49] we call just a a normal uh person, a [00:23:54] normal villager from Shabba. He's also [00:23:58] been kidnapped. They have kidnapped [00:23:59] civilians after that ceasefire and they [00:24:01] have killed civilians and they have [00:24:03] killed some Hezbollah militants as well [00:24:06] but also that is a breach of [00:24:08] international law. So what kind of [00:24:10] ceasefire? It's only a one-sided [00:24:12] ceasefire. And I think many of the [00:24:15] Lebanese people inside their brains. [00:24:18] They're like, "We don't want a [00:24:19] full-blown war, but this is not an [00:24:21] actual ceasefire. This is a just another [00:24:23] form of war." [00:24:25] What an absolute joke when the United [00:24:27] States sits there and Israel sits there [00:24:30] to talk about human rights when this is [00:24:32] the reality on the ground uh in Lebanon, [00:24:35] in Palestine, in all of the places that [00:24:38] Israel is funding and arming Israel to [00:24:41] uh [00:24:43] to take out people, kidnap people, [00:24:45] children, fishermen, uh shepherds. [00:24:48] It's so disgusting. I mean just [00:24:50] listening to you like I'm just enraged [00:24:53] by how bad things are on the ground and [00:24:55] yet we have a corporate media here in [00:24:57] the United States that you know despite [00:25:00] the genocide that's taking place and [00:25:01] this acknowledgement that Israel is [00:25:03] engaging in apartheid in occupation in [00:25:05] ethnic cleansing in genocide and the [00:25:07] kidnappings and the assassinations etc [00:25:10] etc etc. The list goes on it's like a [00:25:12] list that is too long to even mention in [00:25:14] in a short conversation. [00:25:17] They go on to defend Israel's right to [00:25:20] defend itself. They protect that for [00:25:22] Israel. And what an arrogant corporate [00:25:26] media that we do have who is engaging [00:25:29] and enabling Israel to commit these [00:25:32] horrific crimes. And so when the New [00:25:34] York Times or CNN come back to apologize [00:25:37] for their reporting [00:25:39] um for defending any of Israel's uh [00:25:42] atrocities or maybe publishing something [00:25:44] that was inaccurate, we don't want their [00:25:46] apologies. They are acting [00:25:51] in line with protecting Israel. That's [00:25:55] what they're doing. [00:25:57] >> They're absolutely complicit. They're [00:25:59] absolutely complicit. This war was uh [00:26:02] raged in in terms of media, in terms of [00:26:06] protecting Israel. And I think they are [00:26:08] all accompllices. They're not only [00:26:11] aligned with Israel. They are criminals [00:26:14] just as much as Israel is because they [00:26:17] are covering up a genocide that is [00:26:19] already eroded. They are covering up the [00:26:22] kidnapping of doctors in Gaza, the [00:26:25] burning of tents of displaced people, [00:26:27] the bombing of universities and [00:26:29] hospitals, the starvation. They even [00:26:33] find justifications. I mean, what's [00:26:36] wrong with their brains? The flatillas [00:26:38] had only humanitarian aid. How come [00:26:41] you're not enraged by the idea that this [00:26:44] aid was thrown away instead of being [00:26:46] given to starving children? [00:26:49] They are not even aligned man. They are [00:26:51] complicit. They are covering up and they [00:26:53] are blinding their populations. And [00:26:56] unfortunately [00:26:58] I mean the population is waking up in [00:27:00] the west but still many people around [00:27:02] the world do buy that BS. [00:27:06] they I mean that's that's the truth is [00:27:08] that people are waking up and it really [00:27:09] is uh happening uh to an awakening is [00:27:13] happening to the Christian Zionist [00:27:15] movement and I think that's been the one [00:27:17] anchor for the for the state of Israel [00:27:19] in the United States and if Israel loses [00:27:22] that base I mean Israel is going to [00:27:24] start acting in ways that are just [00:27:25] outrageous even more I think in western [00:27:28] lands to kind of hold on to their to [00:27:30] their power but um you know I want to [00:27:33] talk a little bit more about the pager [00:27:34] attacks because these were such a [00:27:36] horrific act of terror against the [00:27:38] people of Lebanon. And even Leon Petta, [00:27:42] former CIA director, called this a [00:27:45] terror attack that was completely [00:27:46] unacceptable. And Israel happily took [00:27:49] credit for this, you know, for this [00:27:50] terror attack, for the pedagra attack uh [00:27:53] that uh wounded um so many people in the [00:27:58] south of Lebanon. Many of them um were [00:28:01] children. And so how are people I know [00:28:04] you've interviewed and you've sat down [00:28:05] with these families. How are people [00:28:07] reeling and like living now post this [00:28:11] attack? [00:28:14] Well, [00:28:16] they are they are more resilient than [00:28:18] you can imagine. And now when you're [00:28:20] asking I can only remember a pager [00:28:22] attack victim. The last time I saw him [00:28:25] in the launching of a movie he came [00:28:27] close to me. He he's obviously blind and [00:28:30] he said, "I just want to tell you [00:28:31] something because you're always on TV [00:28:33] and you're speaking. I want to tell you [00:28:35] I'm way more powerful now." And we [00:28:38] thought in the beginning we thought that [00:28:39] we will be um put aside or we will not [00:28:44] have a role. Uh it ended up being an [00:28:48] actual blessing and we are even more [00:28:51] important now. This is what he said. [00:28:54] >> Yeah. [00:28:54] >> I'm not saying this to to be poetic [00:28:57] here. I know it's not very uh wanted to [00:29:02] lose your fingers or your eyesight, but [00:29:05] the pager attack that that was uh [00:29:09] paraded unfortunately by the Americans [00:29:12] and the Israelis. We will not forget the [00:29:14] golden pager that was gifted to Donald [00:29:16] Trump and the way he paraded it. [00:29:20] Anybody who parades using a civilian [00:29:23] communication device to press one button [00:29:27] and just attack randomly a group of [00:29:29] people [00:29:31] is not even to be compared by the Nazis. [00:29:33] They're worse than the Nazis. They are [00:29:35] not even criminals. They are uh savages. [00:29:39] They aren't even human. Because [00:29:42] regardless of where your battlefield is [00:29:45] is, who can be around that pager, a [00:29:48] child in in the middle of the day, they [00:29:51] did this attack and you know know [00:29:53] countless children were affected and [00:29:55] were injured and many of them you can [00:29:58] see because they've been documented. [00:30:01] Many of them continued their lives and [00:30:03] many of them lost their sight. Many [00:30:04] children, many women lost their sight or [00:30:07] their fingers in that pedag. And this is [00:30:09] not to say that attacking men is easier [00:30:12] or it is justified. But but if they want [00:30:14] to say that they're attacking members, [00:30:16] well, they're not because [00:30:19] anybody who who carries a a pager is not [00:30:22] actually on ground in the battlefield. [00:30:24] They're probably logistics or uh uh [00:30:28] scouts or uh communication people. Some [00:30:32] people work in the media. So basically [00:30:35] there's no we don't even need to go into [00:30:38] ways to justify or to uh explain how [00:30:43] this is an attack on a whole humanity. [00:30:46] Ever since that pager attack manard [00:30:49] everybody knows that their phones can [00:30:51] turn into bombs if Israel chooses to. [00:30:54] And then Benjamin Netanyahu [00:30:58] goes in the podiums of the United [00:31:00] Nations and the United States of America [00:31:03] and says you are holding a piece of [00:31:05] Israel in your hand designating the [00:31:08] phones. [00:31:10] What tells me that right now when I'm [00:31:11] speaking to you if Israel wants to my [00:31:14] phone wouldn't explode and kill me or [00:31:17] your phone that you put next to your bed [00:31:19] every night would not turn into a bomb. [00:31:22] Who stopped Israel when they did that? [00:31:24] No one. Who can ensure us and who can be [00:31:28] trusted to tell us that Israel doesn't [00:31:30] have the ability to do that today and [00:31:32] tomorrow using the AI that is provided [00:31:36] by the technological warfare in the [00:31:38] American uh deep state? Who can tell us [00:31:42] today for sure that this cannot be used [00:31:44] in the future against anyone anywhere? [00:31:47] No one. [00:31:49] So it's not an attack on Lebanese people [00:31:51] or onah. [00:31:53] It is actual empowerment of a rogue [00:31:57] ethnic state uh ethnic appetite state [00:32:04] to actually kill anyone any time using [00:32:07] anything. This is a new era in terms of [00:32:11] savagery. [00:32:13] And what I can't understand is that [00:32:16] there are people who go out [00:32:18] unapologetically parading that you are [00:32:22] holding a phone. You are holding a piece [00:32:25] of communication or technology in your [00:32:27] house around your children. Are you [00:32:29] saying it is okay for anyone or your [00:32:33] enemy to use it to attack anywhere? I [00:32:37] mean we are talking about the Americans [00:32:39] that used to question Ail Haynes when [00:32:42] the Biden administration came in. I [00:32:44] remember that they used to question and [00:32:46] interrogate people who are going to hold [00:32:48] positions in the CIA and so on because [00:32:51] of their massacres while fighting. [00:32:54] They used to say well you attacked Bin [00:32:56] Laden and they were children in the [00:32:57] other room. They used to stop and ask if [00:33:00] that was a crime of war. And they used [00:33:02] to try internally Americans who were in [00:33:06] positions that maybe killed people while [00:33:08] killing Ala. But this is the same [00:33:11] America that is now parading a criminal [00:33:15] tried and judged by the ICJ. [00:33:18] They're receiving a golden page pager by [00:33:22] a person who killed or tried to kill [00:33:24] 6,000 people at once without knowing [00:33:26] their names, their histories. This is [00:33:29] unfathomable man because it's not only [00:33:32] we're not only the ones attacked. This [00:33:35] is attacking human technology. [00:33:37] So it is attacking everybody in the [00:33:40] world. [00:33:43] And still they find a way to justify or [00:33:45] to even parade it. If there was [00:33:47] righteousness, if there was actual [00:33:50] judicial uh uh [00:33:53] logic ruling, everybody who parades the [00:33:57] pager should be in in prison. [00:34:00] And everybody who did that should not be [00:34:02] really thought of as like a great uh [00:34:06] attack. It's just like gas chambers. [00:34:10] It's just like when well you can you can [00:34:12] have someone justify what Hitler did. [00:34:14] You say that he was scientifically uh uh [00:34:18] I don't know, he was scientifically uh [00:34:20] smart. This is what they're doing now. [00:34:22] They're saying Netanyahu is smart by [00:34:24] attacking people using their pagers. [00:34:26] Well, no, he's not. He's just a [00:34:28] criminal. [00:34:29] It's a very It's a hit below the belt. [00:34:32] You couldn't confront Hezbollah with [00:34:34] 80,000 soldiers on the borderline. [00:34:37] 66 days you tried to enter Lebanon and [00:34:39] you couldn't. [00:34:41] But using the pager uh to attack people [00:34:44] and saying that you are like supre your [00:34:47] supremacy and it's not your supremacy. [00:34:49] It's it's American taxpayers money and [00:34:53] American technology and the United [00:34:56] Kingdom and the EU. It's not even your [00:34:58] supremacy. It's other people's money [00:35:01] empowering you because you are the [00:35:02] colonial ethnostate power inside the [00:35:06] Middle East that is here to further [00:35:08] escalate all the tensions and the [00:35:10] divisions among the nation the n the the [00:35:13] natives and the nations here just to go [00:35:16] on and take our land and take our gas [00:35:18] and take our history and take our uh [00:35:21] culture. So Netanyahu is not smarter by [00:35:25] doing that. He's just more savage and [00:35:27] more empowered. And my problem today is [00:35:30] not only with him. I have a problem with [00:35:32] the world. Man, I was thinking as I was [00:35:34] preparing myself to your interview. [00:35:37] I was thinking that you're going to talk [00:35:38] to me about the flatella and I'm saying [00:35:41] like how [00:35:43] dark these days are for people of our [00:35:46] region because now it is an ongoing [00:35:50] known fact that some people matter more [00:35:54] than others. [00:35:55] >> Yeah. [00:35:57] So, we all know that if you are holding [00:36:00] an a European passport, you will get out [00:36:03] of the prison. We all know it. And we [00:36:06] all know that if you are a Palestinian, [00:36:08] you're dying inside. [00:36:11] And just to be living in a time where [00:36:14] this is a fact is so unfair. It makes me [00:36:17] so angry. [00:36:19] It's not okay to live with this fact and [00:36:22] to pass it on to our children. We're not [00:36:24] lesser people. We're not less important. [00:36:28] We're not less deserving of life, [00:36:32] you know. I mean, this is colonialism. [00:36:34] This is modern-day colonialism that um [00:36:38] subjects all of the people in the region [00:36:40] to this kind of oppression. [00:36:42] And um you know, Israel is just keeps [00:36:45] exposing itself to how savage they truly [00:36:48] are. And yes, this is not just about [00:36:50] Israel, but this is about an entire uh [00:36:53] white supremacist [00:36:56] capitalist system that is there to [00:36:59] occupy, to steal land, ethnically [00:37:01] cleanse and take over and steal and [00:37:05] steal and kill and kill and subjugate uh [00:37:09] the native people of the land. And can [00:37:12] you believe that Trump has complained, [00:37:15] "Oh, Israel is planting spying devices [00:37:18] all over the White House." It's like, [00:37:20] well, yeah, [00:37:22] that's how far uh Israel has [00:37:24] infiltrated. And now the United States [00:37:26] is like, you know, [00:37:27] >> this is what you reap. This is what you [00:37:29] reap after what you saw. [00:37:31] >> Exactly. Like this is the this is the [00:37:32] monster you've created. And now you're [00:37:34] like, "Oh, look, even we're being spied [00:37:35] on." But [00:37:36] >> it's definitely going to happen. The [00:37:38] confrontation will definitely be there. [00:37:40] They will not accept America. America as [00:37:44] is as a nation. The diversity, the the [00:37:48] culture, the American culture is made [00:37:50] and built on diversity. So it cannot [00:37:54] coexist with that. There will be a [00:37:56] confrontation. We never know where [00:37:58] between the good and the evil. And I do [00:38:01] not believe that the Americans are bad [00:38:03] people. They are just ruled by bad [00:38:05] people. [00:38:05] >> Of course. Yeah. I mean, most Americans, [00:38:07] if they truly knew what Israel was [00:38:10] doing, I mean, I don't think even an [00:38:12] iota, not even a single American would [00:38:14] support um the USIsrael relationship. [00:38:18] Um, but again, it's it's up to those I [00:38:21] think the Christian Zionist movement [00:38:23] once that kind of goes through, I think [00:38:26] Israel, [00:38:27] >> it's always been been that by the way, [00:38:29] Manar, the Christian Zionism is the one [00:38:31] that planted Israel. There wasn't any [00:38:35] Jewish Zionism. It was planted by [00:38:38] Christian Zionism by Lord Shatzbury who [00:38:41] and then by by Belelfford and it started [00:38:45] over there and there were travelers who [00:38:47] came here Christian Zionists who came [00:38:50] here to this land who came to excavate [00:38:53] and to understand and to build up the [00:38:55] whole myth that would breed in what [00:38:58] we're living in our modern days. books, [00:39:00] countless books say that, you know. [00:39:04] >> Yeah. So, I I want to wrap up by talking [00:39:07] a little bit about um two two things. Um [00:39:10] so, I have two questions left for you. [00:39:11] One is aboutah [00:39:13] again. A lot of people looking from the [00:39:16] outside have made the statement and have [00:39:18] said that has been weakened now because [00:39:22] of the pager attacks, because of the [00:39:23] assassination of say Hassanah. [00:39:27] What is the state of I mean I know you [00:39:30] described a lot of things but what is [00:39:31] the current state ofah [00:39:33] are have they been weakened or are they [00:39:35] stronger uh than ever and then I want to [00:39:37] after that I'll ask you about the [00:39:39] economy and we could wrap up after that [00:39:42] well if I want to be realistic nobody [00:39:45] really knows the actual state military [00:39:47] wise ofah [00:39:48] nobody really knows because it looks [00:39:51] like let me put an analogy here [00:39:54] if there were two fighters is fighting [00:39:57] in like a kickboxing round and one of [00:39:59] them wasn't defeated. He was still had a [00:40:02] pulse and was able to to finish the [00:40:05] match like equally and then disappeared [00:40:08] and then while he's off he's being [00:40:11] trained. He's being uh [00:40:14] I don't know receiving medical [00:40:16] attention. Uh you still didn't see him [00:40:19] again in the battlefield or in the ring [00:40:21] again. So you don't know if he's come [00:40:23] back stronger, angrier, better or [00:40:27] defeated. Hisbah has been laying low, [00:40:32] laying low discreetly [00:40:34] for a year now. Uh the reports say that [00:40:39] financially they have been rescued. [00:40:43] Even Tom Barak said there are $60 [00:40:44] million per month, but [00:40:47] u the reports say $3 billion were put [00:40:51] aside for the reconstruction of the [00:40:53] southern suburb of Beirut and that some [00:40:56] raises were uh reported for the [00:40:59] militants [00:41:01] raised in their salaries. This is one [00:41:03] side. Another side is that they are now [00:41:06] going into the secret kind of work which [00:41:08] is uh an upper hand they have when they [00:41:10] have this kind of um espionage [00:41:14] and AI working for the Israelis. So [00:41:17] they're working in secrecy. Nobody knows [00:41:20] anything about their kind of structure [00:41:22] or work military wise nowadays. So and [00:41:25] whenever they find any kind of target [00:41:27] they would kill kill them the Israelis. [00:41:30] So they they're just searching for them [00:41:32] all over the south of Lebanon. But they [00:41:35] are there. They are moving around. And [00:41:38] some uh analytics would say that [00:41:41] thousands of people from Hezbollah are [00:41:43] moving around daily in the south. [00:41:46] So I think military wise they were able [00:41:49] to uh just to like speculate I'm [00:41:54] speculating here. I think they were able [00:41:56] to reconstruct whatever um communication [00:42:00] network they used to use. Now they have [00:42:02] a different one. They have a this [00:42:04] different structure and I think they are [00:42:07] getting they're always training [00:42:08] themselves and getting ready for another [00:42:11] battle. But we don't know unless the [00:42:14] actual uh the actual battle starts and [00:42:18] we see what what has been proven in the [00:42:21] past uh war in the most recent war in [00:42:24] 2024 is that on the ground they weren't [00:42:27] defeated in the ground invasion zero [00:42:30] wins were given for Israel. Israel won [00:42:34] by air strikes and it has always had the [00:42:36] the upper hand in air strikes. Israel [00:42:38] won by the intelligence by attacking and [00:42:42] even in the air strikes. I think Hassan [00:42:45] Allah say Hassan Allah knew that they [00:42:47] will attack Di but he didn't know that [00:42:49] the Americans will give them the bunker [00:42:51] busters. [00:42:53] So if it weren't for the American bunker [00:42:55] busters and the American help, Israel [00:42:58] wouldn't even win in disguise. [00:43:02] So if the whole world will come with [00:43:04] Israel to fight, yes, is weaker than the [00:43:07] whole world. [00:43:09] But if it's only Israel, it's a matter [00:43:11] of question and we have to live and to [00:43:13] see. Yeah. [00:43:16] Uh Lebanon is obviously a very fragile [00:43:18] country right now. Um it's been dealt [00:43:21] with a very dire economic state even [00:43:24] before October 7th and even before this [00:43:26] current uh conflict between Israel and [00:43:28] uh Hezbollah. Um, could you describe [00:43:32] this the economic state of Lebanon right [00:43:33] now and how that's playing into all of [00:43:36] this uh conflict between the Lebanese [00:43:39] government um and the disarmament and [00:43:41] Israel's war on Lebanon? [00:43:44] >> Well, it's using simple mathematics and [00:43:47] analogies just like I did the if someone [00:43:50] is bankrupt, they're easier to uh [00:43:53] they're easier to manipulate. They're [00:43:55] easier to blackmail. they're easier to [00:43:58] uh I don't know to employ. [00:44:02] But the bankruptcy, the banking system, [00:44:04] the falling down of the banking system [00:44:06] and the economic system has nothing to [00:44:07] do withah or this problem. It has to do [00:44:10] with the corruption. It has to do with [00:44:12] the uh internal uh kind of politics and [00:44:17] governance of this country where [00:44:19] warlords and sectarian entities [00:44:23] partition and divide everything among [00:44:26] themselves. So there's no actual [00:44:27] accountability. Everybody would protect [00:44:29] their man because he's from their sect. [00:44:32] Everybody would empower a corrupt person [00:44:34] because he's their guy. So we reached a [00:44:38] place where the actual state failed [00:44:40] economically because it was taking money [00:44:42] from the banks to spend on the [00:44:45] politicians and not even producing [00:44:47] anything. But this has nothing to do [00:44:50] directly with theah but it has to do but [00:44:54] it has everything to do with the [00:44:56] society. When the society is [00:44:57] impoverished it's easier to manipulate. [00:45:01] It's easier to make moles for espionage. [00:45:04] It's easier to tell the whole people [00:45:06] that you will feel better. You will be [00:45:08] given uh relief and given money and the [00:45:12] World Bank would help you and America [00:45:13] would help you and Saudi Arabia would [00:45:15] reconstruct and everybody would come and [00:45:16] help you if you are all against. So it [00:45:19] would really help you in actually [00:45:21] stressing and making more tensions in [00:45:23] the internal politics. This is how I can [00:45:26] see that the economic state effects. Uh [00:45:29] other than that it has to do with the [00:45:31] corruption of the state of the [00:45:34] governance of the the base of Lebanon [00:45:38] has always been that a sanctarian [00:45:40] regime. [00:45:43] So this is why there was never actual [00:45:46] accountability and the man the icon of [00:45:49] the failure Riyad Sali who's been the [00:45:52] governor of the central bank who was [00:45:55] directly in charge of the dilemma of the [00:45:58] problem of the catastrophe that hit the [00:46:00] Lebanese economy has been freed [00:46:05] recently by now Salam and his governance [00:46:09] by that new I don't know reform era [00:46:13] So this is how big the lie is when it [00:46:16] comes to having an actual state in [00:46:18] Lebanon. We have always been occupied [00:46:20] one way or the other. A sectarian regime [00:46:23] is not a fair regime. It's a regime [00:46:24] where no one is held accountable and [00:46:27] we're living in it. [00:46:30] >> Well, Kadi Francis, thank you so much [00:46:32] for joining us today. We're of course [00:46:33] always praying for peace um in Lebanon [00:46:36] and you know for the people, the [00:46:38] resilient people of Lebanon to be able [00:46:40] to rest. I'm sure that um you know [00:46:43] they're on high alert always as Israeli [00:46:46] drones are flying over their heads and [00:46:48] with all of these attacks. Uh but we [00:46:50] thank you for your bravery and for your [00:46:52] courage and for your voice. I'm sure [00:46:54] that's why Meta took down your page of [00:46:57] over 400,000 followers. We stand with [00:46:59] you. We support you and we encourage [00:47:01] everybody to follow your new page up on [00:47:04] Instagram uh today. Thank you so much. [00:47:07] Thank you manage. Yes.