Untitled Document

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