Lebanese Shiites sign the "Chavez petition" outside a mosque in Beirut's war-battered southern suburb of Haret Hreik after the weekly Friday prayer, 29 October 2006. "Gracias Chavez," proclaimed large posters put up by Hezbollah activists in their Shiite stronghold recently, showing the left-wing Venezuelan president in a red shirt and punching the air with a fist. The petition calls for Israel "to be taken to court for its crimes" during the 34-day war in Lebanon which ended in mid-August after more than 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon alone. Caracas pulled the Venezuelan charge d'affaires out of Israel in early August to protest its operations inside Lebanon, with Chavez charging that Israel "had lost its mind". Getty Images logo Getty Images 33 months ago

Lebanese Shiites sign the "Chavez petition" outside a mosque in Beirut's war-battered southern suburb of Haret Hreik after the weekly Friday prayer, 29 October 2006. "Gracias Chavez," proclaimed large posters put up by Hezbollah activists in their Shiite stronghold recently, showing the left-wing Venezuelan president in a red shirt and punching the air with a fist. The petition calls for Israel "to be taken to court for its crimes" during the 34-day war in Lebanon which ended in mid-August after more than 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon alone. Caracas pulled the Venezuelan charge d'affaires out of Israel in early August to protest its operations inside Lebanon, with Chavez charging that Israel "had lost its mind".

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  1. Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri (R) meets with Hezbollah's senior official Mohamed Raad, as part of consultation meetings with the parliamentary bloc on the formation of a new government, at Parliament in Beirut June 29, 2009.
  2. Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (R) meets with Lebanon's Parliament majority leader Saad al-Hariri in Beirut's suburbs June 25, 2009. Picture taken June 25, 2009.
  3. In this photo released by Hezbollah media office, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, right, meets with Lebanese majority leader lawmaker Saad Hariri, left, in Beirut, Lebanon, late Thursday June 25, 2009. Lebanon's Hezbollah says the group's chief met with the leader of the Western-backed parliament majority in another step ahead of the expected formation of a unity government. Hariri is expected to be nominated for the post.
  4. Lebanese men carrying the Hezbollah yellow flag and the Shiite movement Amal green flags, celebrate the re-election of pro-Hezbollah Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri after he won 90 votes in the 128-member legislature, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, June 25, 2009. Lebanese lawmakers have overwhelmingly re-elected Berri despite the Iranian-backed militant group's recent election loss. The move to re-elect Nabih Berri signals the political factions' determination to work together toward a unity government.
  5. Lebanese men carrying the Hezbollah yellow flag and the Shiite movement's Amal green flags, celebrate the re-election of pro-Hezbollah Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri after he won 90 votes in the 128-member legislature, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, June 25, 2009. Lebanese lawmakers have overwhelmingly re-elected Berri despite the Iranian-backed militant group's recent election loss. The move to re-elect Nabih Berri signals the political factions' determination to work together toward a unity government.
  6. Deputy secretary-general of Lebanese Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, speaks during an interview with AFP at his office in Beirut on June 25, 2009. The Shiite cleric said that there is an obvious foreign interference in Iran that aimed to shake the Islamic republic but the ongoing protests following the June 12 disputed presidential election are coming to an end.
  7. Members of the Lebanese Hezbollah parliamentary bloc arrive at the Lebanese Parliament for the election of the house speaker in Beirut on June 25, 2009. Shiite leader Nabih Berri was re-elected to a fifth consecutive term as parliament speaker, consolidating his position as one of Lebanon's most influential politicians.
  8. Deputy secretary-general of Lebanese Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, speaks during an interview with AFP at his office in Beirut on June 25, 2009. The Shiite cleric said that there is an obvious foreign interference in Iran that aimed to shake the Islamic republic but the ongoing protests following the June 12 disputed presidential election are coming to an end.
  9. Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (L) meets with Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumbatt in Beirut's suburbs June 18, 2009. Picture taken June 18, 2009.
  10. In this handout picture released by Hezbollah media office, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, left, meets with Druse leader Walid Jumblatt, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, on late Thursday June 18, 2009. Two main rival Lebanese leaders have held a long-awaited meeting in a major step toward reducing sectarian tensions after a pro-Western coalition defeated Hezbollah and its allies in parliamentary elections.
  11. Lebanon's Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Beirut's suburbs June 10, 2009.
  12. Lebanon's Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Beirut's suburbs June 10, 2009.
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  14. Lebanon's Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Beirut's suburbs June 10, 2009.
  15. Supporters of Hezbollah ride their scooters as they wave Hezbollah flags in Beirut's suburbs June 7, 2009. Lebanese voters cast ballots in a tightly contested general election on Sunday pitting a Western-backed coalition against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies.
  16. Supporters of Hezbollah ride their scooters as they wave Hezbollah flags in Beirut's suburbs June 7, 2009. Lebanese voters cast ballots in a tightly contested general election on Sunday pitting a Western-backed coalition against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies.

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