Hizbullah sharpens its weapons in propaganda war

BEIRUT

Nineteen months after Hizbullah's fighters succeeded in driving Israeli forces out of southern Lebanon, the Lebanese organization is employing a weapon of a different kind against the Jewish state: a 24-hour satellite television station.

Each day, a familiar collage of images flashes across the screen to the tune of martial music: men dressed in camouflage uniforms waving their rifles in triumph, a funeral procession of chanting Palestinians, Israeli soldiers aiming rifles at stone-throwing Palestinian children. Often there is the distinctive voice of Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbullah's leader, vowing the destruction of the "Zionist entity."

The station's name, Al Manar, means the beacon. Every day in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, thousands of Palestinians tune in to Al Manar to receive inspiration and guidance from Hizbullah. The television station represents the only serious challenge to the Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite station for popularity among the Palestinians. Al Manar's message is simple: "Jihad [holy war] is the only way to salvation and the experience of the Islamic and the Lebanese resistance is the best proof," explains Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hizbullah's deputy leader. It is a message that Hizbullah's leaders have repeated again and again since the Palestinian intifada began 15 months ago.

Hizbullah's yellow flag flutters alongside banners of mainstream Palestinian groups at funerals and demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinians listen avidly to tapes of Sheikh Nasrallah's speeches.

Hizbullah's popularity among the Palestinians stems from its successful 18-year war of attrition against the Israeli army in south Lebanon. Israel's unilateral withdrawal in May 2000 was widely regarded in the Arab world as the first Arab victory against the previously invincible Israelis.

For many Palestinians, wearied by years of seemingly fruitless peace negotiations with Israel, the Hizbullah model of "armed resistance" has enormous popular appeal.

"Al Manar is an important weapon for us," says Nayyef Krayyem, Al Manar's chairman. "It's a political weapon, social weapon, and cultural weapon."

During the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ended three weeks ago, Al Manar broadcast a historical drama on the life of Ezzieddine al Qassem, an Arab guerrilla leader who fought British and French rule in the 1920s and 1930s. Costing $100,000, "Ezzieddine al-Qassem: A story of Jihad and Resistance" was Al Manar's most ambitious project to date.

The mini-series also has a contemporary context. Ezzieddine al Qassem is the name of the Palestinian Hamas Movement's military wing, and the story of one man's attempt to oust colonial occupiers has a powerful resonance for the besieged Palestinians.

The station produces around 70 percent of its programs, which include talk shows, religious programs, children's shows, and dramas. "We abide by a general policy that our programs should meet Islamic standards," Mr. Krayyem says.

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