Hezbollah praises shoe-thrower al-Zaidi

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- An incident involving an Iraqi reporter lobbing his shoes at U.S. President George Bush was an expression against the occupation, the Lebanese Hezbollah said.

Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, a correspondent for al-Baghdadiya satellite channel, threw two shoes at the visiting president during a weekend news conference in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Showing the soles of one's shoe is a grave insult in Arab culture. Zaidi shouted the insult was a "farewell kiss" to the "dog" who invaded Iraq in 2003.

The Lebanese Hezbollah issued a statement to the Beirut offices of the official Islamic Republic News Agency calling Zaidi a hero, a popular sentiment in the region.

"The brave move of Zaidi, the best title for which can be the goodbye kiss, was the loud cry of the Iraqi nation and the entire oppressed nations against occupation, oppression and injustice," the Hezbollah statement said.

Zaidi is reportedly in Iraqi custody Tuesday awaiting judicial proceedings. Various media outlets reported he was beaten while in detention.

Hezbollah said the incident was the result of years of oppression under the U.S. occupation of Iraq and a sign of the growing impatience with the American presence there.

"Al-Zaidi's move marked the end of the Bush era, that was the period of illegal invasions and occupation," the statement concluded.