Terrorism

Hizbullah defector exposes 'truth' about the party

By Waleed Abu al-Khair in Cairo

This screenshot shows the most recent account held by the Hizbullah defector, whose old accounts were closed after Hizbullah's cyber army reported him to Twitter, accusing him of violating the platform's terms of service. [Photo via social media]

This screenshot shows the most recent account held by the Hizbullah defector, whose old accounts were closed after Hizbullah's cyber army reported him to Twitter, accusing him of violating the platform's terms of service. [Photo via social media]

Recent defectors from Lebanese Hizbullah have given various reasons for leaving the party, voicing their objection to its policies and actions in Lebanon and to its continuing intervention in Syria's ongoing and bloody war.

One of these defectors has confronted Hizbullah on Twitter, describing what the party was like from the inside and exposing some of its secrets.

The defector, whose name has been withheld to protect him, sat down with Al-Mashareq for a wide-ranging interview about his experience with the party.

Al-Mashareq: When did you join Hizbullah?

Elements of Hizbullah's Resistance Brigades, seen here in Lebanon, reportedly receive some weapons training, but not as much as the party’s core elements. [Photo via Al-Ahed news website]

Elements of Hizbullah's Resistance Brigades, seen here in Lebanon, reportedly receive some weapons training, but not as much as the party’s core elements. [Photo via Al-Ahed news website]

The Imam al-Mahdi Scouts organisation is one of Hizbullah’s main recruitment pools. [Screenshot of video posted on YouTube by al-Mahdi Scouts]

The Imam al-Mahdi Scouts organisation is one of Hizbullah’s main recruitment pools. [Screenshot of video posted on YouTube by al-Mahdi Scouts]

Defector: I joined as a teenager in 1986. I was recruited during a period of forced displacement during Lebanon's civil war. The party recruited children and adolescents and brainwashed them with ideas centred on the establishment of an Islamic Republic in Lebanon.

I fell into that trap because because I was young. We were raised on slogans such as hostility towards the West and, more importantly, obeying Iran's Supreme Leader.

We were saturated with hatred for everything that contradicted our beliefs. We simultaneously fought several wars against the Amal Movement and the Communist Party to tighten our grip on the area.

I was trained and tasked with non-combat activities outside Lebanon, including surveillance and spying on the Iranian opposition.

Al-Mashareq: Why did you defect from the party?

Defector: I left the party after I became convinced that it has nothing to do with God and its religious orientation is simply a means to its end. I was opposed to the assassinations, the battles that destroyed Lebanon and the constant push to antagonise the Gulf states and create rifts in Lebanon.

I disliked the fact that Hizbullah's activity sabotaged Lebanon's economy and protected the corrupt. I was also against participating in a war against the Syrian people.

Al-Mashareq: What is the purpose of your Tweets?

Defector: I activated a Twitter account with the handle "Hizbullah Defector", after which a Hizbullah Defector hashtag became viral. The purpose of my tweets is to inform the Lebanese about Hizbullah and warn Arabs and the world of the danger of Hizbullah.

I feel it is my duty to let the world know the truth about its criminal nature, its bloody history and its activities to terrorise Lebanon, Arab countries and the world.

I wanted to expose the party's cultivation of hashish, its involvement in the drug trade outside Lebanon and its role in money laundering and smuggling.

I was the first to expose the party’s use of Beirut's port, airport and land crossings to transport its weapons and fighters and evade taxes under the pretext that they are for 'resistance' purposes. My objective is to see that weapons in Lebanon are solely in the hands of the Lebanese government.

Al-Mashareq: Have you received threats or cyberattacks on your account?

Defector: I have received both threats and enticements. I was offered money for silence. I used to be threatened from the party on a daily basis, which threatened to kill me and subject me to the worst forms of torture.

Hizbullah elements threatened to harm my family and come after me anywhere in the world. I was attacked by the party's cyber army, and my account got hacked into more than 30 times. I am always at risk of being banned from Twitter because there is a high number of reports to Twitter against me that accuse me of violating the platform's terms of service.

Al-Mashareq: Have you noticed any disgruntlement in Hizbullah's ranks?

Defector: Yes, there are credible reports of disgruntlement in the party’s ranks stemming from the refusal of many to take part in the Syrian war or the meagre amount of money paid to the families of the dead or maimed. Another source of disenchantment is the inability of the party to meet financial requests, including interest-free loans.

Most of the party's leaders hail from Lebanon's southern region, and only a few elements and leaders hail from the Bekaa Valley, which makes many unhappy. There also is a financial divide between the poor in the Shia community, those who benefit from the party and the emergence of wealthy individuals among the party’s leaders.

Al-Mashareq: Does Hizbullah recruit any non-Shia militants?

Defector: Hizbullah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have made efforts to do so since the mid-1990s.

Hizbullah recruited thousands of young people, particularly among Imam al-Mahdi Scouts. At times, threats and financial incentives were used to recruit members of other parties. Through financial support, Hizbullah succeeded in recruiting a large number of Sunni youth who were loyal to the Syrian regime.

The party made its way into a large number of towns and villages, where it took advantage of financial woes and widespread youth unemployment. Hizbullah elements handed out large sums of money, scholarships and other grants. They reportedly attempted to cultivate a positive rapport with Sunni clerics. They also recruited a number of fugitives by promising to protect them.

Al-Mashareq: How did Hizbullah benefit from such methods of recruitment?

Defector: Hizbullah has established what is called the Resistance Brigades, comprising at least 10,000 members. They received some weapons training, but not as much as the party’s core elements.

Hizbullah used them to establish weapons warehouses and to man checkpoints in order to connect the party to all parts of Lebanon. This way, it was confident it had resources to confront its opponents anywhere in the country.

Recruiting Sunnis also served as propaganda to promote the party, to suggest Hizbullah is not sectarian and defend the IRGC. They used the same rhetoric to attack Lebanon's allies, especially Arab countries and the US.

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18 Comment(s)

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A dirty and lying party; they haven't fired a single bullet against Israel and they claim to be resisting. The rats of al-Dahye (the suburb). Hehe

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Everyone is aware of Hezbollah's cultivation and smuggling of narcotics and illicit drugs. It cannot be denied. Drug trafficking is among main sources of income for the terrorist group, known as the Party of Satan.

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There is nobody who is more trivial than you. You deal with the people as if they were stupid. You come up with headings for articles, ask yourselves and answer for yourselves at the same time. These are all lies. There is nothing that can be believed. I say this although I don’t belong to any party. Just say something logical.

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It was a very interesting story... especially the part where it said, "Twitter blocked this defected individual's account 30 times."... I really believed it... Kudos to Twitter... Wow, what a good Twitter... Kudos to Twitter, which is a Hezbollah supporter...

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Shame on this website which is publishing an interview with an unknown person who comes up with contradictory and strange words! These fabricated, fake words can deceive the stupid only. I warn you against taking sides against the honest people in Lebanon. For 12 years, America and the coalition have destroyed Iraq and the people of Iraq; they have looted the oil, gas, gold, silver and ancient antiquities of Iraq. This is what America is doing in Iraq and the Middle East.

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It’s impossible that you joined Hizbullah and then come to say these words. Everyone knows about this. The incubator of Hizbullah pays out of their own money for this party to remain; they sacrifice their own children in order to ensure that this march continue. As to this defector, he has nothing to do with Hizbullah, and never joined it. This is nothing but a Zionist electronic game to incite hatred against Hizbullah. However, Hizbullah will remain in spite of you.

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All that he is saying is untrue. As youth, we know everything and our inner talk doesn’t include anything about an Islamic republic. Ask that conscientious person why, if he was a young member of Hizbullah, has he waited all these years?! We know about this trend. The first picture isn’t of Hizbullah's Resistance Brigades, and Imam al-Mahdi Scouts organisation doesn’t recruit anyone, but instead focuses on culture. A participant in this organisation will either continue or join the world of Hizbullah. Hizbullah just wants to be a partner in this country, like all other people. I’m taking from my own experience. I wished to join the party, but because I was alone, they didn’t accept me.

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You need 100 years in order to tell a carefully-worded story. You need to eat a lot.

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“Defector: Yes, there are credible reports of disgruntlement in the party’s ranks stemming from the refusal of many to take part in the Syrian war or the meagre amount of money paid to the families of the dead or maimed. Another source of disenchantment is the inability of the party to meet financial requests, including interest-free loans. The party made its way into a large number of towns and villages, where it took advantage of financial woes and widespread youth unemployment. Hizbullah elements handed out large sums of money, scholarships and other grants.” At one point, you say there is ‘meagre amount’ and then says ‘large sums of money.’ Play another game, o, pimps!

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This is known and documented information on Hizbullah, its creed and methods. This article offers nothing new.

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If you want to make up a movie, do it, but not like that. Be logical in what you say so that minds can accept it. You can bring a movie director and pay him more so the story can be be well made!

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We appreciate the work of this Hizbullah defector in exposing the truth about this corrupt gang that is affiliated with Iran’s Wilayat al-Faqih (Guardianship of Islamic Jurist). In fact, Hizbullah has become a part of Iran’s soldiers and wants Lebanon to join the non-Islamic Republic of Iran that has destroyed its country and its people with dire poverty, large-scale corruption, killings, executions, tortures and oppression of freedoms. It would be useful for the Arab people that his exposure continue and that this work develop to the formation of a front of nationalist opposition figures to confront Hizbullah’s projects and disarm it or expel it from Lebanon. May God grant you success!

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Hizbullah is more honourable than you, o, idols of Trump and the likes! Hizbullah is an honest Lebanese party whether you like it or not.

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A very good farce!

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If you were really in the party, it is good that you defected because you’re a spiteful animal. In fact, you don’t know the meaning of resistance against occupation and foreign invasion. As to this page, you’re promoting falsehood and distorting facts. Hizbullah was the result of the Zionist occupation, and the result of American domination on us. Therefore, Lebanon’s Hizbullah was created with the assistance of Iran to liberate us from the Jews and Americans and their allies, including Arab traitors, like Saudi Arabia and others who have sold off the Islamic and Arab cause. Those Arabs couldn’t confront like the Lebanese with their resistance and people, foremost among who are the beloved Hizbullah.

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Damn you, o, tail! You’re just a tail of Iran and you’ll certainly say it’s good that he defected from the party. However, your words about the party and how it liberated you from the Jews is just a lie. This is because you and the Zionists are the two sides of the same coin. You’re a tool in Israel’s hands in the region. The ostensible enmity between you is just a farce that was exposed a long time ago. I want to assure you that your end, together with your party and the guardianship of the foolish jurist is very close. My advice to you, o tail, is to run away as of now so you don’t get shot in the head one day and die after losing this world and the after-world as well.

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This is an agent; not a defector.

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I’ve defected from the Republican Party. Hehehehehehe! Trump has been my friend since we were little!

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