Hizbullah Slams U.S. Sanctions, 'Political Exploitation' of Hay el-Sellom Events

Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc on Thursday blasted what it called “cheap political and media exploitation” of the latest crackdown on street vendors in Hay el-Sellom and the uproar that followed it.

“As the bloc highly appreciates the patience of our people and their endurance of the dire economic and social situations and the state's negligence towards the development of their regions, it stresses that the constant demand of Beirut's southern suburbs is the implementation of the law, the enforcement of social security and the removal of illegal violations,” said Loyalty to Resistance in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

It called for “the widest cooperation with the measures aimed at enforcing the law,” rejecting “any excuse aimed at justifying the violations that harm our people in Beirut's southern suburbs before anyone else.”

A police raid against unlicensed street vendors in Hay al-Sellom has caused a rare public expression of anger in a stronghold of Hizbullah.

The raid early Wednesday was carried out by the Internal Security Forces, which used bulldozers to take down shacks where vendors mainly sold coffee and mobile phones.

Dozens of angry residents poured into the streets, burning tires and blocking some roads to prevent the police from approaching their properties.

The protest turned against Hizbullah, which had promoted the campaign against violators. In an usual move, some took their grievances to live TV, demanding compensation from Hizbullah and even cursing the group's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Public displays of anger against Hizbullah in Lebanon are rare, especially in the group's strongholds.

Separately, the Loyalty to Resistance bloc described the latest U.S. sanctions on Hizbullah as a “U.S. aggression against Lebanon, its people and its sovereignty.”

“The financial sanctions law that the U.S. House of Representatives voted for yesterday is a blatant interference in Lebanese domestic affairs, a violation of national Lebanese sovereignty and an unacceptable attack against the Lebanese people,” the bloc said.

It also warned against “the risks of submission or fear from this policy,” calling for “a firm sovereign stance” and “practical rejection of this behavior.”