Hezbollah is Unfairly Burdened with the "Reputation of War"

Written by :

Charles Ayoub — Ad-Diyar

With every political speech—whether from the opposition or supporters—speakers inevitably claim that the war in Lebanon is caused by Hezbollah’s weapons.

The reality, however, is that for over a year, Hezbollah has not fired a single bullet at the Israeli enemy. It remains committed to self-restraint and non-engagement. This comes despite daily aggression against Hezbollah members. The Israeli army assassinates civilians in their cars or on motorcycles, simply announcing they are "Hezbollah elements."

These individuals are unarmed. They are not in a combat posture. They are not escorting or approaching Israeli occupation points in Southern Lebanon or elsewhere—whether in the northeast of Baalbek-Hermel, the Jezzine area, Zahrani, or the Sidon district. Hezbollah’s members are, of course, brave. They are strugglers, fighters, and defenders of Lebanese soil. Their history is a history of liberation and defense; the border strip is the greatest example of fighting against and liberating land from occupation.

The 2006 war was another major example of the resilience of Hezbollah’s forces against an Israeli army that mobilized its full strength to attack Lebanese territory, yet failed.

Today, Hezbollah adheres to "strategic patience." It remains on high alert to defend occupied Lebanese lands on the ground should Israel attempt a land invasion. Israel, however, limits itself to air attacks and occasional naval shelling—though the latter is rare. Then we come to the "Mechanism" (the monitoring body). It is headed by an American general, assisted by a French general, and includes a Lebanese civilian figure, Ambassador Simon Karam, and an Israeli civilian figure. This Mechanism neither helps nor harms; it is simply a false witness to one Israeli aggression after another. The international forces (UNIFIL) are more than just witnesses—they are targets, coming under Israeli fire during their movements in southern Lebanon. Consequently, the Mechanism is useless. By its mandate, it is obliged to inform the concerned states and the UN Security Council about the clashes in southern Lebanon and identify the aggressor. Yet, so far, it has yielded zero results.

Even the United States, which heads this Mechanism, turns a blind eye to all acts of the Israeli enemy on Lebanese soil and in the areas occupied by the Israeli army. Every day, we hear an American statement claiming the problem is Hezbollah and that Hezbollah’s weapons are responsible for the war in the South.

The US refuses to state the truth as it is:

That the Israeli enemy is the one conducting the aggressions. That the war being managed in southern Lebanon is being waged by the officers and soldiers of the Israeli enemy army. But the United States and Israel are committed to a unified stance and aggression. They agree on striking the Resistance and Hezbollah in Lebanon, aiming to completely annul the weapon of the Resistance. The proof is that Lebanon and its army, in coordination with the Resistance, implemented the "exclusivity of weapons" south of the Litani River.

It was expected that the United States, and even the Israeli enemy, would withdraw from certain points as a temporary, small step toward peace. Instead, Tom Barrack, the envoy of US President Donald Trump, visited the South and Lebanon several times...

Only to conclude by saying that the entire problem lies in the "reputation of war" that Hezbollah violates in southern Lebanon. This is despite Hezbollah responding positively to the Lebanese Army and international forces, and implementing weapons exclusivity in the south.

When the US Presidential envoy Tom Barrack returned from Tel Aviv and met with Speaker Nabih Berri—who was waiting for a positive answer based on a "step-for-step" approach—President Berri became angry and uttered his famous phrase: “We were waiting for a positive answer, but they brought us the opposite.”

Since then, the assassination of the people of the South, the Bekaa, Sidon, Zahrani, and others continues. The Israeli army does not retreat from occupying the "Five Hills." It does not stop assassinating villagers in the South, nor does it stop sending its warplanes to bomb the northern and eastern barrens of Hermel and Baalbek. In the face of all this, we hear only that Hezbollah is responsible for the "reputation of war" in the South.

Hezbollah does not fire a shot. It is committed to strategic patience, waiting to see what the government will do with the world and the nations responsible for the Mechanism. Meanwhile, many parties place the "reputation of war" on Hezbollah, claiming it is responsible for the war in the South.

This is contrary to the truth and contrary to the facts.