[46924] Storm in Lebanon following video mocking Hezbollah; sharp criticism of the Shin Bet in Israel

[46924] Storm in Lebanon following video mocking Hezbollah; sharp criticism of the Shin Bet in Israel

Psychological and internal warfare in Lebanon

A public storm is erupting in Lebanon following a satirical video published by the Lebanese television channel LBC. The video, based on the "Angry Birds" game characters, depicts Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem as the "main bird" calling not to surrender, while the grim reality of the destruction of villages in Lebanon is depicted in the background. According to Abu Ali Express, the video sparked outrage among the organization's supporters, who responded by publishing their own versions targeting Christian leaders and Lebanese politicians, including Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi and Samir Geagea.

Hezbollah issued an official circular condemning the video and claiming it is part of "plots being hatched against all Lebanese" with the aim of fueling internal conflict. At the same time, the Lebanese President intervened and called for avoiding harm to religious symbols. Conversely, blogger Or Fialkov notes that the video exposes the "embarrassing and humiliating gap between empty slogans in the air and the reality on the ground," in which he claims Hezbollah fighters are hiding in tunnels while Lebanon is being destroyed.

Criticism of the command echelons in the Shin Bet

In the internal Israeli arena, the blog Gadi Taub: Threshold Guardian publishes sharp criticism of the conduct of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) under Ronen Bar. In a post written by Taub, he analyzes the words of Shin Bet veteran Dvir Kariv and argues that the organization suffers from deep "rot," in which its senior officials assume that it is possible to use security tools for settling political scores. Taub warns that "resounding operational failures" by people who think they know more than elected officials are indicative of a worldview that is dangerous to democracy.