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Hezbollah Supporters Celebrate ‘Holy Stabbing’ of Salman Rushdie

Hadi Matar, 24, center, listens to his public defense attorney Nathaniel Barone, left, addresses the judge while being arraigned in the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, NY., Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. (AP)
Hadi Matar, 24, center, listens to his public defense attorney Nathaniel Barone, left, addresses the judge while being arraigned in the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, NY., Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. (AP)
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Hezbollah Supporters Celebrate ‘Holy Stabbing’ of Salman Rushdie

Hadi Matar, 24, center, listens to his public defense attorney Nathaniel Barone, left, addresses the judge while being arraigned in the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, NY., Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. (AP)
Hadi Matar, 24, center, listens to his public defense attorney Nathaniel Barone, left, addresses the judge while being arraigned in the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, NY., Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. (AP)

Hezbollah media briefly reported on the stabbing of novelist Salman Rushdie, who was attacked in New York on Friday.

As of Saturday night, the Iran-backed party has yet to comment on the incident.

Hezbollah supporters, however, hailed the attack on social media, accompanying posts about it with the hashtag “holy stabbing”. They also lauded the assailant as a “hero”.

The accused attacker, 24-year-old Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault at a court appearance on Saturday.

Rushdie, 75, was set to deliver a lecture on artistic freedom at Chautauqua Institution in western New York when police say Matar rushed the stage and stabbed the Indian-born writer, who has lived with a bounty on his head since his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses” prompted Iran to urge his killing.

Rushdie remained hospitalized on Saturday with serious injuries while police sought to determine the motive behind the attack that drew international condemnation.

An official Lebanese source said Matar is of Lebanese origins, but he was born and raised in the United States.

He hails from the town of Yaroun bordering Israel.

Yaroun municipal chief Ali Tehfe said Matar’s parents hail from the town. His father still resides there, while his mother lives in the US.

The locals are following the news of the stabbing, but none of them have ever met Matar, he revealed.

Matar holds Lebanese nationality and had previously visited Lebanon.

Local media said his parents are divorced and used to live in California. His family rarely visits Lebanon, they added.

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Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said the group is open to serious negotiations with the government based in Port Sudan to end the country’s devastating conflict, now in its third year, provided there is genuine political will from the other side.

The remarks by Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, who is also a member of the RSF’s negotiating team, come as international actors prepare to meet in Brussels on Thursday in a bid to lay the groundwork for a ceasefire.

The talks are expected to include the European Union, African Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain.

“Negotiations could begin with confidence-building measures and credible arrangements,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Dialogue remains the best path to ending a war that has no winners, only losers, both the people and the nation.”

He said the RSF is ready to discuss the location, timing, and possible mediators for peace talks, but stressed that any engagement must be met with equal seriousness by Sudan’s military-backed government.

However, Al-Safi cautioned that his group would not accept talks that merely allow the opposing side to regroup and secure external support to resume fighting.

“We cannot enter into a dialogue that gives the other party time to reorganize and rearm,” he said, adding that the RSF remains “at its strongest” on the battlefield.

Sudan’s army has conditioned any peace negotiations on the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration, a humanitarian agreement signed in May 2023. The deal, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, has since been marred by mutual accusations of violations from both the military and the RSF.

Meanwhile, the RSF is pushing ahead with plans to form a rival administration in areas under its control.

Al-Safi, a senior adviser to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said the group is nearing the formation of what he called a “government of unity and peace.”

He added that over 90% of the preparations for the announcement have been completed.

“The delay in announcing the government is due to ongoing consultations among members of the Founding Sudan Alliance [Tasis], which supports this move,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s not because of internal disagreements, as some have suggested.”

Asked about the planned capital of the parallel government, Al-Safi declined to name the city but suggested it would not be Khartoum.

“There are cities more beautiful than Khartoum,” he said. “From a strategic perspective, I believe the capital should be temporary and capable of accommodating all institutions of government.”

He only noted that the proposed city is located in territory controlled by the Tasis alliance.

The RSF’s moves come amid growing fears that the fragmentation of Sudan will deepen if parallel authorities are entrenched, further complicating efforts to reach a comprehensive peace.