Manal Zuaiter – Major General
Until recently, Hezbollah was careful to choose its words carefully when addressing the Lebanese authority, and made a great effort to formulate its positions with the least amount of escalation possible, despite its clear dissatisfaction with its performance… But today, the scene has completely changed, the party has taken off its political gloves, and its rhetoric has become more intense, to the point of giving this authority, according to what one of its leaders confirms, between two options that have no third: either working outside American dictates and presenting the national interest regardless of any consideration. Another, or resignation, because the continuation of the current performance may lead the country to a dangerous political and security explosion, with undesirable repercussions.
In practice, the gap between the party and the authorities is widening day after day, and the official silence has widened even more regarding the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department on Hezbollah MPs and ministers, and figures close to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in addition to officers in the Lebanese Army and Public Security. While the presidencies of the republic and the government remained silent, Hezbollah did not hide its dissatisfaction with the authority’s abandonment of its security and military institutions, to the extent that the leadership of the army and public security were forced to issue defensive statements about their role and position.
According to the leader, the American sanctions carried two basic messages:
The first message: Intimidating the officers participating in the Lebanese delegation, by issuing a clear warning that any departure from American directions will expose them to sanctions… The party believes that the goal of these sanctions is to subjugate the army leadership and its officers and push them to modify their positions in a way that is consistent with the American project proposed for Lebanon. They also come as a continuation of the path of intimidation that was previously practiced on the army leadership, when voices rose calling for changing its commander, Brigadier General Rudolf Heikal, in an attempt to put pressure on the military establishment and push it to engage in options. What Washington wants.
In this context, the party considers that there is an attempt to transform the military institution into a partner in providing security guarantees to the Israeli enemy, by prioritizing the security track over the political track.
As for the circulating talk about creating a new brigade in the army whose mission would be to disarm Hezbollah, officers and brigadier generals in the army put it in the context of “testing the pulse.” On the other hand, the leader of the party merely said that going on this path, if it happened, would practically lead to the division of the Lebanese army, stressing that neither the army nor any other party is capable of disarming the party by force, and warning that any party that adopts this option will face a reaction from the resistance, which “will not stand idly by.” “Hands.”
The second message is to put pressure on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to push him towards accepting the path of direct negotiations with the Israeli enemy, against the backdrop of his honorable and patriotic positions, especially his rejection of these negotiations and his insistence that the Lebanese state adhere to the November 27, 2024 agreement and the mechanism emerging from it, and to return to the mechanism as the only framework within which the army and the state can work instead of engaging in a new “security-political” path produced by direct negotiations. In Washington, it is being imposed on the Lebanese as a fait accompli.
According to private information obtained by Al-Liwaa, Washington is preparing to announce the inclusion of political, security, media, economic and diplomatic figures considered from the very narrow circle surrounding Speaker Berri on the sanctions list, as part of increasing pressure on him to push him to agree to direct negotiations.
In practice, Hezbollah does not care about the American sanctions, as it considers them “null” and of no political or practical value. However, what displeases it, according to its sources, is the silence of the authorities regarding “the blatant American interference in Lebanese sovereignty.” In this context, the party wonders: How can the claimant of sovereignty remain silent in the face of “American guardianship,” while voices quickly rise and positions are mobilized when anything related to Iran happens, and the apocalypse will occur then and not rest, as is said.
This dissatisfaction extends to the President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, in the first place, if information confirms that communication between the party and Aoun has been cut off, and that the meeting that brought together Aoun’s advisor Andre Rahal with MP Hassan Fadlallah about a month ago remained an orphan, and this reflects the extent of the complexities and worsening differences between the two parties.
