Hezbollah Releases Footage of 2006 Abduction

JERUSALEM—Six years ago, Hezbollah guerrillas crossed into Israel from Lebanon and ambushed two armored Humvees on patrol in northern Israel, killing eight idf soldiers and taking two others hostage. The cross-border raid ended up triggering the Second Lebanon War.

This week, Hezbollah released amateur video footage of the attack that shows Hezbollah militants ambushing the idf convoy on Israeli soil.

The question is, with northern Israel relatively quiet over the past six years, why did Hezbollah decide to release the video now?

Yesterday, the Independent of London made a few interesting observations: “Analysts in Israel and Lebanon suggested the timing of the video release had less to do with heightened tensions between the Shia Muslim guerrilla group and Israel than with the overshadowing of Lebanese domestic politics by the Syrian civil war.” So this may have more to do with Hezbollah’s increasingly shaky position in Lebanon.

“Hezbollah has come under increasing pressure ahead of Lebanese elections scheduled for next summer from anti-Syria politicians denouncing the group’s broad support for—and partial dependence on—the Syrian regime during its violent suppression of the 16-month uprising,” the Independent continued.

Some analysts have suggested that the Hezbollah video release is an attempt to rally support from the Lebanese people by demonizing Israel. Rather than showing Hezbollah’s strength, however, this video and the timing of its release is another sign of Hezbollah’s desperate position with Bashar al Assad’s regime in danger of collapsing in Syria.

As we reported last week, Syria—a major Hezbollah supporter—has long been a major player in Lebanese politics. Hezbollah knows that if Syria breaks its alliance with Iran, Lebanon may well follow. And if that happens, Hezbollah will be left on the outside looking in.

For more on this, watch the update we posted last week: “When Syria Goes, What Happens to Hezbollah?”