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)מ"למ( ןיעידומה תשרומל זכרמה רורטלו ןיעידומל עדימה זכרמ

)מ"למ( ןיעידומה תשרומל זכרמה רורטלו ןיעידומל עדימה זכרמ

)מ"למ( ןיעידומה תשרומל זכרמה רורטלו ןיעידומל עדימה זכרמ

)מ"למ( ןיעידומה תשרומל זכרמה רורטלו ןיעידומל עדימה זכרמ

Overview Green Without Borders is a Lebanese environmental organization dealing mostly with

forestation. It operates in areas populated mainly by Hezbollah-controlled Shi'ites in

south Lebanon and the Beqa'a Valley. An examination conducted by the ITIC revealed that

the organization collaborates with Hezbollah's civilian institutions, especially the Jihad

al-Bina1 (the "construction foundation") and the Hezbollah Association for Municipal

Activity. Green Without Borders participates in Hezbollah's campaign to glorify its shaheeds

and turn them into role models for Lebanese youth. To that end Green Without Borders

plants trees, some of them near the Israeli border, named for Hezbollah shaheeds, in

collaboration with Hezbollah institutions and operatives. Green Without Borders'

chairman, Hajj Zuhair Nahle, a Shi'ite from Nabatieh in south Lebanon, is affiliated with

Hezbollah. In his Facebook profile he refers to his loyalty to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei.

Right: Hajj Zuhair Nahle, Green Without Borders chairman (Facebook profile, January 9, 2015). Left: Iranian leader Ali Khamenei as he appears on Nahle's Facebook page: "I give my love and loyalty to Ali Khamenei," plus a hashtag "I am in favor of the Governance of the Islamic Jurist"

(Facebook profile of Hajj Zuhair Nahle, January 2, 2018).

1 A Hezbollah foundation engaged in construction and social projects.

Green Without Borders: a Lebanese

environmental organization that collaborates with Hezbollah and supports its activity near the

Israeli border

February 19, 2020

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The Green Without Borders logo (Green Without Borders website, January 24, 2014).

Green Without Borders operates a number of forward facilities near the Israeli-

Lebanese border which Hezbollah uses for its own activities. In June 2017 and October

2018 the IDF spokesman reported that the organization's facilities and activities near the

Israeli border serve as a front for Hezbollah military operatives disguised as civilians and

in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.2 Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador

to the UN, lodged a complaint with the Security Council but the UN rejected it, based on

UNIFIL reports claiming it had no evidence to support Israel's accusation.

The Green Without Borders facilities exist along the border to this day. In ITIC

assessment Hezbollah continues to use them to camouflage its activities in the area

close to the border. Nevertheless, UNIFIL reports continue to claim that no evidence has

been found of violations of Security Council Resolution 1701 in Green Without Borders

facilities (while behind the scene Hezbollah prevents UNIFIL patrols from conducting genuine

examinations of Green Without Borders' facilities).

On September 1, 2019, Hezbollah operatives fired two anti-tank missiles at the IDF near the

community of Avivim in response to an IDF attack in Syria. UNIFIL, which examined the

incident, estimated that based on technical data the missiles were fired from a site close to

two adjacent Green Without Borders sites in Maroun al-R'as (north of Avivim) (based on

UN Secretary General's report about the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701

for June-October 2019). (See below.)

2 UN Security Council Resolution 1701, passed on August 12, 2006, called for the institution of full Lebanese sovereignty of all of Lebanon and the disarmament of all militias, Lebanese (i.e., Hezbollah and other armed Lebanese organizations) and non-Lebanese (i.e., Palestinian terrorist organizations). According to the resolution the area of south Lebanon from the Litani River to the border would have particular security arrangements that would prevent an armed Hezbollah presence. For further information, see the December 19, 2018 ITIC bulletin "Security Council Resolution 1701 and Its Systematic Violation by Hezbollah and Iran."

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Paragraph 6 of the UN Secretary General's report about the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 for June-October 2019. (ITIC emphasis throughout.)

Contents

Contents:

Overview of the Green Without Borders organization

IDF reports and Israeli complaint to the UN regarding Hezbollah's use of Green

Without Borders facilities

Examples of collaboration between Green Without Borders and Hezbollah's civilian

institutions

Hajj Zuhair Nahle, chairman of Green Without Borders

Green Without Borders – Overview The Green Without Borders organization is the National Organization for the Preservation

and Development of the Forest, Environment and Animal Resources. The organization is a

registered NGO which has operated with a Lebanese interior ministry permit since June 20,

2013. It deals with environmental issues, focusing on the forestry. Its activities include

planting trees, cleaning, establishing public parks, operating nurseries and locating and

fighting forest fires. Its chairman is Hajj Zuhair Nahle, who is affiliated with Hezbollah (see

below).

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Right: Green Without Borders operatives in uniform (Oh Tyre! website, April 19, 2015) Their hats and shoulder patches bear the Green Without Borders logo. The color of the uniforms is similar to

that of the local forest rangers in some of the Lebanese towns. Left: Khalil Lubani, father of Hezbollah shaheed Mahdi Lubani,3 wearing a Green Without Borders uniform (Instagram account

dedicated to the memory of Mahdi Lubani, November 28, 2015).

Between 2013 and 2015 Green Without Borders operatives pruned about 140 acres of

woodland, manned at least eight facilities for locating and fighting forest fires, helped

extinguish hundreds of fires and planted about 160,000 saplings in exposed areas and on

road shoulders. In addition, the organization held 34 courses and workshops attended by

about 570 volunteers (about 8,500 volunteers participated in all the activities held by the

organization during those years). According to the organization, by November 2018 it had

participated in planting 1,200,000 trees (Green Without Borders website, January 22, 2014

and April 30, 2015; Imam al-Mahdi Scouts website, November 25, 2018).

Green Without Borders sign for a tree-planting project along the Wadi al-Salouqi road south of the Litani River (local news website of Arazi, November 20, 2018)

3 Hezbollah operative from the town of Ayta al-Shab in southwestern Lebanon, killed in the fighting in Syria in January 2014 (in al-Ghouta al-Sharqia near Damascus).

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Green Without Borders' activity is focused in regions where there is a clear Shi'ite majority,

including south Lebanon and the Beqa'a Valley (website of the Jihad al-Bina, February 18 and

27, 2014; al-Ahed news website, January 22, 2015). It operates facilities whose functions

include locating and fighting forest fires. Some of the facilities can be found south of the

Litani River in Wadi al-Salouqi, Ramyeh, Maroun al-R'as and Yaroun (UN Secretary

General's report about the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 for 2018-2019;

Bint Jbeil local new website, July 17, 2019; Twitter account of the union of the Jbeil-Amal

municipalities, August 4, 2019).

IDF Reports and Israeli Complaint to the UN regarding Hezbollah's Use of Green Without

Borders Facilities In June 2017 the IDF spokesman reported that Green Without Borders' facilities near the

Israeli border serve as camouflage for Hezbollah operatives, including their conducting

of surveillance near the border (IDF spokesman's website, June 22, 2017). Speaking at a

Herzliya Conference, Herzl Levi, at the time head of IDF military intelligence, said that

Hezbollah was only a "stone's throw" from the Israeli border. He added that under the aegis

of Green Without Borders Hezbollah had successfully situated itself "on the [border]

fence" (IDF website, June 22, 2017). In October 2018 the IDF spokesman exposed another

Green Without Borders facility in the village of al-Adeisse (west of Israeli Kibbutz Misgav Am).

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, sent the members of the Security Council

pictures of the Green Without Borders facilities and a map of the facilities near the border,

and demanded that the Lebanese government be ordered to dismantle them immediately.

However, UNIFIL patrols which were sent to examine the facilities found nothing. According

to a source in the IDF's Northern Command, Hezbollah prevented the UN forces from

examining the sites, claiming they were on private property (IDF website, October 28,

2018).

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Right: A Green Without Borders facility with the organization's logo (Twitter account of Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the UN, June 22, 2017). Left: Green Without Borders facility near

the Israeli border (IDF spokesman's website, June 22, 2020).

Green Without Borders facility near the Israeli border. At the left is the organization's logo and a barred window behind which is a man looking through binoculars (IDF website, October 28,

2020).

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Enlargement of the window of the Green Without Borders facility, behind which is a man looking through binoculars (IDF website, October 28, 2020).

The UN Security Council rejected Israel's claims, noting that UNIFIL reports proved

that the organization dealt with environmental preservation and that there was no

proof of Israel's claims (al-Kawthar TV, June 24, 2017). Following Israel's claims and

exposure of the Green Without Borders facilities, the director of Lebanese General Directorate

of General Security, General Abbas Ibrahim, paid a visit to a Green Without Borders' facility in

south Lebanon according to its chairman, Hajj Zuhair Nahle, representatives of the Lebanese

army and former UNIFIL commander Michael Beary. They formed an impression of the

organization's activity, heard an elaborate explanation about its tree-planting,

environmental preservation, fire-fighting activity, etc. After the visit to the facility they

praised its undertakings (al-Manar, July 29, 2017).

In October 2018 the IDF spokesman exposed another Green Without Borders facility in

the village of al-Adeisse. According to the announcement the facility served to

camouflage Hezbollah activity in the area (IDF spokesman's website, October 22, 2018). In

the wake of the IDF exposure the commander of UNIFIL's eastern sector visited the site with a

Lebanese army force. They were accompanied by the mayor of al-Adeisse, who explained

about Green Without Borders' activities, which included overseeing forests, dealing with

forest fires and protecting the environment.

The al-Adeisse mayor took the delegation to a pine forest which had recently been

planted to illustrate the need for the Green Without Borders' facility (al-Adeisse local

news website, October 31, 2018). A senior source in Israel's Northern Command reported

that Hezbollah had prevented UN forces in the region from examining Green Without

Borders' facilities, claiming they were situated on private property (IDF website, October

28, 2020).

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Right: A map of Green Without Borders facilities near the Israeli border, disseminated by the IDF spokesman (IDF spokesman's website, October 22, 2018). Left: UNIFIL commander of the eastern sector visits a Green Without Borders center in al-Adeisse following the IDF spokesman's report

(al-Adeisse local new website, October 31, 2018).

Green Without Borders' activities near the border – Overview of current situation

Green Without Borders' facilities near the Israeli border still exist. In ITIC assessment

they continue to camouflage Hezbollah activity. Between 2017 and 2019 UNIFIL patrols

occasionally tried to reach the organization's facilities or the surrounding area. The access of

UNIFIL patrols to the facilities was consistently blocked with the claim that they had to be

accompanied by a Lebanese army force. Therefore, UNIFIL continued to report that no

evidence had been found of violations of Security Council Resolution 1701 (UN Secretary

General's report about the implementation of Resolution 1701, 2018-20194).

The most recent report of an incident between a UNIFIL patrol and Green Without

Borders employees was on September 24, 2019. Five men in civilian dress halted a UNIFIL

patrol at the gate of the organization's center in Ramyeh in the western sector of south

Lebanon near the Israeli border. They claimed the patrol had to be accompanied by the

Lebanese army in order to enter the facility. Later, UNIFIL and a force of Observer Group

Lebanon (OGL) monitors succeeded in entering unaccompanied by the Lebanese army. On

October 4, 2019, UNIFIL succeeded in entering the site on its own, although two Green

4 Implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) Report of the Secretary-General Reporting period from 1 March 2018 to 20 June 2018, Implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) during the period from 21 June to 26 October 2018, Implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) during the period from 21 June to 26 October 2018, Implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) during the period from 18 February to 24 June 2019, Implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) during the period from 25 June to 31 October 2019.

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Without Borders operatives prevented them from reaching point B29 marked on the Blue

Line, claiming it was forbidden to reach the area without a [Lebanese army] military escort.5

Examples of Collaboration between Green Without Borders and Hezbollah's Civilian Institutions

Since its inception Green Without Borders has collaborated closely with various

Hezbollah civilian institutions. Its strongest ties are to Jihad al-Bina (the "construction

foundation"), which repairs damages caused during fighting. Jihad al-Bina is routinely

active in fields in Green Without Borders' domains, especially tree-planting.6 The two

organizations hold joint tree-planting events, sometimes planting them to

commemorate Hezbollah shaheeds (Green Without Borders' website, January 17, 18 and 22,

2014, February 18 and 27, 2014; Hezbollah's information services website, February 28, 2015,

Oh Tyre! website, April 19, 2015, al-Khayam local news website, November 5, 2017, Dunia al-

Watan, November 17, 2019).

Another notable example of Green Without Borders' collaboration is with the Association

for Municipal Activity, a Hezbollah body responsible for the organization's activity in local

government.7 Senior figures in the Association for Municipal Activity attend and

sometimes sponsor Green Without Borders activities (Jihad al-Bina website, August 17,

2013 and January 17, 2014; al-Ahed, January 22, 2015; al-Khayam local news website,

November 5, 2017; Radio al-Nur, November 16, 2018; Arazi local news website, November 20,.

2018; Dunia al-Watan, November 17, 2019, Facebook page of the Tir Daba municipality,

December 13. 2019).

In at least two instances local government heads helped Hezbollah keep UNIFIL

soldiers away from Green Without Borders' facilities. They also attempted to dispel

Israel's claims and prove to UNIFIL that the organization's activities were innocent (UN report

on the implementation of Resolution 1701 for February-June 2018; local al-Adeisse news

website, October 31, 2018). In addition, the names two of the organization's founders are

5 Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) during the period from 25 June to 31 October 2019. 6 For further information see the June 23, 2019 bulletin, "Jihad al-Bina Association in Lebanon: A Hezbollah social foundation engaged in construction and social projects among the Shiite community, being a major component in Hezbollah’s civilian infrastructure." 7 For further information, see the July 10, 2019 bulletin, "Resistance society: Hezbollah’s municipal activity."

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identical to the names of two senior figures in Hezbollah's municipal system (although it

cannot be proved they are the same individuals). They are Muhammad Ali Shakar, one of the

founders of "the association of mukhtars in eastern Baalbek" (Lebanese registration August

21, 2013; Lebanese News Agency, July 15, 2014); and Hussein Muhammad Haydar, a member

of the Amal-Hezbollah list that won the municipal elections in 2016 in the town of Kafr Dan in

the Beqa'a Valley (Radio al-Nur, May 7, 2016).

Right: A Jihad-al Bina sign regarding a tree-planting project in the village of al-Dheere (near the Israeli border in the western sector of south Lebanon). Both the sign (top center) and the

watering can bear the Jihad al-Bina logo. The Green Without Borders logo appears in the upper left-hand corner (Jihad al-Bina website, January 22, 2014). Left: Sheikh Fouad Hanjoul, in charge of Hezbollah's Association for Municipal Activity in the first Lebanese region, south of the Litani

River (center, holding microphone) (al-Manar). Standing next to him are leaders and scouts from Hezbollah's Imam al-Mahdi scouting organization. The scouts and their leaders planted trees in

an event organized by the Jihad al-Bina and Green Without Borders in the village of Ayta al-Shab (Jihad al-Bina website, January 17, 2014).

Another Hezbollah body that Green Without Borders collaborates with is the Hezbollah

faction in the Lebanese parliament (known as the "Loyal to the Resistance" faction).

Parliament members sponsor and give speeches at Green Without Borders' events. Green

Without Borders also collaborates with other Hezbollah civilian organizations, especially

those linked to its education system. They include the Education Mobilization,8 Imam al-

8 For further information, see the June 2, 2019 bulletin, Hezbollah’s “Education Mobilization:” An institution engaged in the indoctrination of Shiite students in Lebanon’s state and private educational systems, in preparation for their joining Hezbollah upon graduation."

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Mahdi scouts,9 the al-Mahdi and al-Mustafa school network,10 and the Islamic Heath

Organization.11

Right: Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament Hassan Fadlallah (right, holding spade) plants a tree at a Green Without Borders' event in the village of Ayta al-Shab in the western

sector of south Lebanon, near the Israeli border (al-Khayam local news website, November 5, 2017). Left: Imam al-Mahdi Scout leaders plant a tree at a Green Without Borders event in the

village of Haddatha in south Lebanon (Green Without Borders website, February 12, 2015).

Planting trees in honor of Hezbollah shaheeds

Green Without Borders supports Hezbollah's indoctrination effort to inculcate the value

of shahada (death as a martyr for the sake of Allah) and to glorify the organization's

shaheeds. They are two of the main values Hezbollah strives to inculcate among the Shi'ite

population in general and the younger Shi'ite generation in particular. Green Without Borders

collaborates with Hezbollah's civilian institutions in planting trees in commemoration

of shaheeds, sometimes near the Israeli border. Some examples are the following:

January 2014: Jihad al-Bina and Green Without Borders held a tree-planting event at the al-

Khayam detention facility which today is used for Hezbollah commemoration and

propaganda activities.12 The trees were planted to commemorate shaheeds killed in and

around the al-Khayam detention facility (Jihad al-Bina website, January 18, 2014).

9 For further information, see the June 20, 2019 bulletin, "The Imam Al-Mahdi Scouts Association: Hezbollah’s youth movement which indoctrinates youth with Iranian radical Shiite Islam and serves as a source of youngsters who join Hezbollah." 10 For further information, see the June 20, 2019 bulletin, "Hezbollah operates networks of private schools indoctrinating Shiite youth in Lebanon with the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and with loyalty to Hezbollah and the path of terrorism." 11 For further information, see the July 24, 2019 bulletin, "The Islamic Health Organization: Hezbollah institution providing health services to Hezbollah operatives and the Shiite population in general as a means for gaining influence and creating a Shiite mini-state within Lebanon." 12 For further information, see the October 7, 2019 bulletin, "Jihadi tourism: visits to battle legacy sites and shahid tombs as an indoctrination tool for spreading Hezbollah’s ideology."

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Sheikh Nabil Qawouq, deputy chairman of Hezbollah's executive council, plants trees in a joint Jihad al-Bina-Green Without Borders ceremony. The trees were planted to commemorate

Hezbollah shaheeds Muhammad Rida Hussein Awada (right picture) and Hitham Fouad Dabaja (left picture) (Jihad al-Bina website, January 18, 2014).

February 2014: A joint Jihad al-Bina-Green Without Borders tree-planting event was held

for Hezbollah commanders' day (Jihad al-Bina website, February 18, 2014).

December 2014: A tree-planting event was held at the Shaheed Commander Bassem

Tabaja Park in the village of Tabnit (southeast of Nabatieh) by Green Without Borders in

collaboration with Hezbollah's Association for Municipal Activity (Green Without Borders

website, December 5, 2014).

The sign for the tree-planting event in Tabnit. The sign reads, "Forestation project of the Shaheed Commander Bassem Tabaja Park," the Green Without Borders' logo is at the right

(Green Without Borders website, December 5, 2014).

March 2015: A joint Green Without Borders-Hezbollah's Association for Municipal

Activity tree-planting event was held at the Preserve of the Shaheeds of the Resistance

in the town of Jibshit in south Lebanon. Among those in attendance were Sheikh Abd al-

Karim Ubeid, who in the past was detained by Israel and today is an aide to the chairman of

Hezbollah's executive council (Nabatieh local news website, March 10, 2015).

April 2015: Trees were planted in the Shaheed Journalist Hassan Abdallah Park in the

village of Itaroun during a Green Without Borders event to "plant a million trees" (Oh

Tyre! website, April 19, 2015). The Green Without Borders sign hung in the park read, "This

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tree gives shade for a man of the resistance and homeland." Thus the tree is meant to

shelter "operatives of the resistance," i.e., Hezbollah operatives.

Right: A Green Without Borders sign for a project called "A tree for every citizen" hung in the Shaheed Journalist Hassan Abdallah Park. It reads, "The tree is the heading for a firm

stance...and the cave for the men of the resistance"13 (Green Without Borders website, November 25, 2014). Left: Green Without Borders sign hung in the Shaheed Journalist Hassan

Abdallah Park in the village of Itaroun (Oh Tyre! website, April 19, 2015).

November 2019: Green Without Borders held a tree-planting event at the site of the

suicide bombing attack carried out by terrorist Amer Kalkash near the northern Israeli

city of Metulla in March 1985.14 Participants in the event included students from Hezbollah's

al-Mahdi school from the village of al-Ahmadiya (al-Mahdi school website, November 14.

2019).

13 The sign quotes a passage from the Qur'an describing a cave where monotheistic believers found shelter when they were being pursued in the time before Islam (Green Without Borders website, November 25, 2014). 14 The suicide bombing attack was carried out in Marj Ayoun on March 10, 1985. A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb near a convoy of IDF vehicles which included four trucks of IDF soldiers returning to base from a weekend leave. Twelve soldiers were killed and 14 were wounded (Wikipedia)

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Hajj Zuhair Nahle, Chairman of Green Without Borders

Green Without Borders chairman Hajj Zuhair Nahle is a Shi'ite from Nabatieh, where he

owns property, and is one of the organization's founders. According to his Facebook page he

is closely connected to Jihad al-Bina. He gives Likes to institutions of Hezbollah's civilian

institutions, Iranian civilian institutions and the Facebook pages of shaheeds. He also

expresses his loyalty to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Several examples are the

following:

Outlined: glorification of Hezbollah shaheeds, Likes found on his Facebook profile. Upper right, shaheed Yusuf Naji,15 upper left, shaheed Ali Dabah,16 lower center, shaheed Qassem Shamkha.17

15 Hezbollah operative from Nabatiya in south Lebanon, killed in the region of the shrine of al-Set Zeinab in Damascus. Considered missing until June 2019, when he was officially declared a shaheed whose grave was unknown (Hazaharani local news network website, June 18, 2019). 16 Hezbollah operative from the village of al-Saksakiya in south Lebanon. Killed in September 2015 in the fighting in al-Zabdani, Syria. 17 Hezbollah operative from the village of Burj Qalawi in south Lebanon. Killed in November 2016 in the fighting in Aleppo, Syria. In addition to his military activity he was a soccer player on the Hezbollah-affiliated al-Ahed team.

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More Likes from Hajj Zuhair Nahle's Facebook page: Outlined: right, the Amana gas station network, owned by Hezbollah's Shaheed Foundation.18 Left: Hezbollah's Association of

Municipal Activity in the second region in south Lebanon, north of the Litani River.

Facebook friends of Qassem Hassan, responsible for the south Lebanon region of Hezbollah's Jihad al-Bina, which has close ties to Green Without Borders. Outlined at the lower right, Hajj

Zuhair Nahle is one of Hassan's Facebook friends (Facebook profiles if Qassem Hassan, February 7, 2020).

A shared post from a Facebook user named Wissam Abbas attacking the Lebanese authorities for using the name "Israel" instead of "Palestine" when referring to the Lebanese borders

(Facebook page of Hajj Zuhair Nahle, July 28, 2018).

18 For further information, see the March 11, 2019 bulletin, "Hezbollah’s Martyrs Foundation: purpose, mode of operation and funding methods."

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Expressing loyalty to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei:

Picture of Ali Khamenei with Arabic reading, "To Ali Khamenei are given my love and loyalty "I am I favor of the Governance of the Islamic Jurist" (Facebook page of Hajj Zuhair Nahle, January

2, 2018).

Likes for Iranian civilian institutions operating in Lebanon:

Likes on Hajj Zuhair Nahle's Facebook profile page. Outlined, right: The Ragheb Harb Hospital, operated by the Iranian Red Crescent. Left: The Imam Khomeini Cultural Centers' network.19

19 For further information,, see the December 8, 2008 bulletin, "Exporting the Iranian revolution to Lebanon: Iran and Hezbollah operate an extensive network of cultural and religious institutions as well as publishing houses. This network is used to inculcate Lebanese society, primarily the Shi’ite community, with Iranian radical Islamic ideology."