Many Arab states keep silence on killing of Nasrallah

CAIRO (Reuters): Israel’s killing of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was met with silence by many Sunni-led states across the region, showcasing the split between populations outraged at Israel and authorities who normalised ties with Israel or are opposed to Hezbollah’s patron Iran.

Nasrallah, who led the powerful Shi’ite armed group for 32 years, made regional enemies beyond Israel and the West. Gulf countries and the broader Arab League designated his group a “terrorist organization” in 2016, although the League retracted the designation earlier this year.

Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia said in a statement late on Sunday that it is following the developments in Lebanon with “grave concern”, and urged the preservation of the sovereignty and regional security of Lebanon. But it made no mention of Nasrallah.

And Sunni-ruled states Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have stayed completely quiet on Nasrallah’s killing. The UAE and Bahrain normalised ties with Israel in 2020, and Bahrain quashed a sizeable pro-democracy uprising by its Shi’ite community in 2011.

The Bahraini pro-Iran LuaLua TV, however, broadcast videos showing modestly sized marches which it said were in mourning for Nasrallah. The channel said the Bahraini regime “attacked” demonstrators and detained some of them.

The Bahraini opposition website Bahrain Mirror reported the kingdom detained a Shi’ite cleric for expressing his condolences on Nasrallah. 

According to a statement by the Egyptian presidency, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati by phone and said Cairo rejected any violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty – without mentioning Nasrallah.

Egypt has been critical of Iran and its proxies in the past, though it has maintained informal contacts with Iran and Egypt’s foreign minister has held official meetings with Iranian officials over the past year.

In the first televised speech since the killing of Nasrallah on Sunday, Sisi said the region is going through difficult circumstances, and said that Egypt “manages its issues in a way that preserves it and the region as possible, without being dragged in issues that can impact its stability and security.” He also made no mention of Nasrallah in the speech.

Other states like Syria and Iraq have declared a three-day mourning period.