Sweden-Based Lebanese Journalist Jerry Maher: Compared to Hizbullah, Israel Is an Angel; Hizbullah Is the Same as ISIS

Lebanese journalist Jerry Maher, the CEO of Radio Sawt Beirut International, said that Israel no longer posed a threat to Lebanon and that "the real war is the one that Hizbullah is waging against the Syrian people and against the Lebanese army." Speaking in a February 21 Al-Jazeera TV show, Maher, who is based in Sweden, said there was no difference between Hizbullah and ISIS, that "Hizbullah is the biggest catastrophe to befall this region," and that "when you compare [Israel and Hizbullah], Israel is an angel and Hizbullah is Satan."

Jerry Maher: "We have learned that there is an American policy to hold Hizbullah accountable, and not to remain silent over its deeds in Syria in the past five years. [The Americans] believe that Lebanon cannot become a state with institutions as long as Hizbullah is not disarmed, especially since there is no longer any real Israeli threat to Lebanon."

Interviewer: "No threat?"

Jerry Maher: "None. It's over. Today, Israel seeks peace in the region. It is striving to get closer to the Arab countries, and will not instigate a war that would turn back the clock. The real war is the one waged by Hizbullah against the Syrian people, and Hizbullah's war against the Lebanese army, attempting to weaken it."

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"What is the difference today between Hizbullah and ISIS? [ISIS] threatens people, forcing them at gunpoint to follow its policies, in Deir Ezzor, Al-Raqqah, and elsewhere, and Hizbullah does the exact same thing in Lebanon."

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"Hizbullah is the biggest catastrophe to befall this region. I believe that it has even surpassed Israel itself in terrorism. When you compare the two, Israel is an angel and Hizbullah is Satan, because Israel has not killed as many Arabs and Palestinians as Hizbullah has done in Syria. We cannot deny this fact. Israel did not bombard schools in Syria. It did not bombard a university in Idlib, a mosque or a church in Aleppo or Deir Ezzor... Hizbullah, on the other hand, has reached all the way to Bahrain, in its attempts to kill people over their sectarian-religious identity.

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