STRIKES AND RISING TENSIONS ALONG ISRAEL'S NORTHERN FRONTIER
LEBANESE YOUTH MARCH AS GOV'T, ECONOMY FALTER
WHILE WAR RAGES, HUMAN TRAFFICKERS THRIVE
The global trafficking of persons has become one of the most heinous and widespread forms of criminal exploitation in the 21st century. Human trafficking is not simply the exploitation of vulnerable people, it is the exploitation of unstable political climates to build underground empires of organized crime. These networks are particularly successful in the Middle East because of multiple refugee crises, the kafala (sponsor) laws, the criminalization of victims, and pervasive conflict that keeps journalists focus on war, not trafficking issues.
HEZBOLLAH FIRES AT ISRAELI DRONE AMIDST LEBANESE UPHEAVAL
Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters overrun an anti-government protest site in Beirut on Tuesday, October 29th, 2019. (Credit: AP)
Lebanese Hezbollah fired an anti-aircraft missile at an Israeli drone yesterday, but missed their target. Both the Israeli military and Hezbollah confirmed the incident, which came just two days after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his resignation.
Lebanon has been embroiled in political and social turmoil since wide-scale street protests broke out on October 17th. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah initially voiced public support for the protests. However, the populist movement has largely eschewed any established power structure in Lebanon, and when it became clear that Hezbollah could not co-opt the movement, they began to criticize and suppress it instead. Supporters of the Iran-sponsored terrorist organization attacked protesters and ransacked their protest site on Tuesday afternoon. Then Iranian Supreme leader accused Israel and the United States of provoking the protests in both Lebanon and Iraq last month, claiming that they are intended to destabilize the pro-Tehran governments in Baghdad and Beirut. The Iranian regime has taken a direct role in the suppression of grassroots protests in Iraq, with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directing Iraqi security forces and Iranian-sponsored militias there. It remains to be seen if the protests inside Lebanon and the subsequent resignation of the Hezbollah-aligned prime minister will result in positive change in that country, or a spiral of violence that mirrors Iraq’s descent into the grip of Iran.
Some analysts have suggested that Hezbollah may attack Israeli forces at the Lebanese or Syrian borders in order to rally the Lebanese public around them, similar to the border provocation near Avivim on September 2nd. In any event, one thing remains clear: Hezbollah has consolidated their hold over southern Lebanon and southeastern Syria, and have been stockpiling rockets and other armaments in preparation for an eventual war with Israel.
Sources:
https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Report-in-Lebanon-Israeli-drone-shot-down-606431
https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-accuses-israel-us-of-causing-protests-in-lebanon-iraq/