Israel’s Armenia policy and its Lebanese angle

Ensuring Socio-economic Justice

Crescent International

Rabi' al-Awwal 15, 1442 2020-11-01

Daily News Analysis

by Crescent International

Poorly-informed commentators often explain Israeli “support” for Azerbaijan—a majority Shia Muslim country—in terms of Tel Aviv using the unelected Aliyev regime as a platform against Islamic Iran.

While this is accurate, it is one aspect of how Zionist Israel benefits from adopting an anti-Armenian public posture.

There are two other components which form Israel’s anti-Armenian policy.

First, Zionist lobbies often supported Turkey’s efforts in the 1990s in blocking legislation in Western countries for recognizing the genocide of Armenians.

This aspect was recently pointed out indirectly by a column in the Ha’aretz newspaper.

Second, by adopting an anti-Armenian public posture, Israel indirectly creates friction within Lebanon’s domestic politics.

How? The small Armenian community in Lebanon are considered “outsiders”.

They cooperate with various Lebanese political groups in order to advance their small community’s interests.

Armenians in Lebanon also cooperate with Hizbullah on domestic issues.

This internal Lebanese matter is converted into an international issue by Israel’s ally, the Aliyev regime, when dealing with the Islamic movement in Azerbaijan.

Since the Aliyev family usurped power in Azerbaijan, the regime has been actively spreading an unfounded rumor that Hizbullah fought against fellow Muslims during the Karabakh war in the 1990s.

This rumor has been frequently repeated in Azerbaijan for decades through the regime-controlled media.

Lebanese Armenian fighters are presented as Hizbullah fighters.

In 2011, this rumor was denied in an interview with Crescent International by Al-Manar’s former managing director, Dr. Sayyed Ibrahim Al-Mousawi.

Even though there is no shred of evidence to support this lie, the Aliyev regime has convinced a significant portion of Azerbaijan’s population of its validity.

The unfounded rumor of Hizbullah’s participation in Armenian occupation and ethnic cleansing of Karabakh conveniently plays into Israel’s hands.

Taking into account Israel’s deep penetration of Azerbaijan, it is not far-fetched to assume that the Zionist entity cultivates this rumor.

For Israel, the internal relationship between Armenians in Lebanon and Hizbullah creates an opportunity to further discredit Hizbullah’s Islamic credentials within the wider Muslim world.

Hizbullah-Armenian cooperation in Lebanon allows for the portrayal of the Islamic resistance as an ally of ultra-nationalist Armenia against Muslim Azerbaijan.

Israel assumes that by forcing Hizbullah to publicly denounce Armenian occupation of Karabakh and endorse Muslim Azerbaijan in restoring its territorial sovereignty, internal friction will be created for the Islamic movement in Lebanon.

This is based on a flawed assessment of the Armenians’ political weight in Lebanon.

While Israel is likely to continue utilizing the Armenian card in its propaganda war against Hizbullah, in strategic terms this is unlikely to affect the high standing of the Islamic resistance in Lebanon.

The Armenian community in Lebanon is well organized but is not a political heavyweight.

Hizbullah does not need its support in Lebanon.

Instead, the Armenian community needs the backing of the region’s heavyweight, Hizbullah.