Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon toward collapse

The military escalation in Lebanon is causing a massive civilian exodus. One like never seen before. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 100,000 people fled their homes in a single day this week, bringing the total number of displaced to 667,000 since Israeli strikes intensified following Hezbollah’s decision to join Iran’s attacks. This has put the country in another horrific humanitarian situation, as if we keep on finding ways to worsen the situation.

The government has, for the first time, condemned Hezbollah’s actions. But it is always striking to observe how a certain category of intellectuals and thought leaders — often those connected with international centers of influence such as major media outlets and charitable organizations — rightly highlight the gravity of this tragic situation, while frequently falling short of acknowledging the role played by Hezbollah in bringing it about.

The current crisis is part of the broader regional escalation following the offensive launched on Feb. 28 by Israel and the US against Iran. A weakened Hezbollah is playing, with great difficulty, the role the regime in Tehran has designed for it. As a result, it is making the entire country pay in blood.

A weakened Hezbollah is playing, with great difficulty, the role the regime in Tehran has designed for it

Khaled Abou Zahr

What surprises me is that, when discussing this point with any of these intellectuals or “self-righteous thinkers,” they will cut you short, insisting that we can focus on nothing other than the current humanitarian situation. They add that it is not the time to point fingers but rather to show solidarity and compassion. This playbook serves Hezbollah. Indeed, by doing so, they give Hezbollah a free pass and absolve it of any responsibility. This fascination or being under the spell of Hezbollah is something that puzzles me. 

There have been 570 Lebanese killed in Israeli strikes in the last two weeks. Surely it is justified to ask if this would have happened if Hezbollah had not attacked Israel and that we should blame Hezbollah’s actions for this reaction. Is it not time to bring Hezbollah to justice for flouting the law? Why can’t these intellectuals feel solidarity with the affected Lebanese and their families, while still using their platforms to push for the end of the instrument of this destruction?

The reality is that they have never condemned Hezbollah. They never say that Hezbollah’s unnecessary actions created the expected Israeli response and, in turn, the humanitarian crisis. It is not the first time this has happened. Warnings had been issued but, despite this, Lebanon is thrown into the abyss. I expected that, this time, as the Lebanese government has actively taken a position against Hezbollah’s actions, their position would have changed. It hasn’t.

Their speech today echoes the position of left-leaning centers of thought in Europe that designate the Israeli and US aggression as being unlawful in regard to international law, yet fail to condemn Iran’s attacks on the Gulf countries. Needless to say, the Gulf countries have not participated in the attacks on Iran and have even refused to allow their territory to be used as a launch pad. Yet, Iran has still chosen to attack them.

This is still not enough for them. In the same way, Lebanon is caught between Hezbollah and Israel. These self-righteous leftist thought leaders continue to avoid the tough questions and the right stance. They stood silent during the Syrian revolution and did not once mention the protests in Iran.

These self-righteous leftist thought leaders continue to avoid the tough questions and the right stance

Khaled Abou Zahr

It is too easy. Indeed, we all feel helpless and heartbroken seeing children suffer. We all have difficulties watching the recurrent images of forced displacement, death and hunger. What these intellectuals do is take control of a monopoly of compassion. By staying silent about Hezbollah’s actions, they do not make the story about the real victims but about themselves. It is about their compassion and their own agenda, not the disaster the Lebanese people are living through. It is hiding their lack of courage behind the broken lives of the Lebanese and using them to serve their group’s own political interests. Without meaning to sound too extreme, this is the same method used by Stalinism to silence its opponents.

It is time to break free of this situation. Today, no one can or should give lessons to Lebanon, as the country has paid one of the heaviest tolls in the region. This is why we should stand with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s recent stance and plan for negotiations with Israel. He directly accused Hezbollah of pushing Lebanon toward state collapse. Aoun said the attack served Iranian interests and risked dragging Lebanon into chaos.

It is time to end the conflict and allow Lebanon to exit the cycle of destruction. Aoun proposed a four-point plan, including a full truce with Israel, international support for the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah and direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under international supervision. There is no doubt that the toughest part is Hezbollah’s disarmament, which so far has been mostly achieved by Israel.

Beyond this, there needs to be a healing dialogue with the Shiite community. If the main thought centers of the country do not engage with a different narrative, this dialogue will never take place. It will keep conveying the message of the oppressor and the oppressed, not of citizens. Nothing can be built with this mindset, not even a new country. We need to break this narrative and this can only happen if Hezbollah is destroyed. It is time for self-righteous Lebanese intellectuals to acknowledge the reality: the only source of oppression in this crisis is coming from the regime in Tehran and its proxy, Hezbollah.

• Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.