BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah and its political allies won just over half the seats in Lebanon’s parliamentary election, unofficial results showed, boosting an Iranian-backed movement fiercely opposed to Israel and underlining Tehran’s growing regional clout. Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, called it a “political and moral victory” for the “resistance”, as the group refers to itself and allies. An Israeli minister said the outcome, which has yet to be confirmed by official results, showed the Lebanese state was indistinguishable from Hezbollah, signaling the risk of Israel hitting Lebanon’s government in a future war. Initial indications showed the staunchly anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces, a Christian party, emerging as a big winner, nearly doubling its lawmakers to at least 15 from eight. “Hariri is going to be further weakened in any kind of government going forward,” Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute said.

Source: Huffington Post May 07, 2018 17:03 UTC