Hezbollah

Hezbollah, Identity of Lebanon

Recent events in Lebanon along with some European countries’ greed for colonization of this country, have put Lebanon in a critical situation. The following Op-Ed explains Hezbollah's capacity and role in strengthening Lebanon's national identity and security in the West Asian region.

Today, Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese identity. There is a consensus, not only in the region but also in the world, that Hezbollah's resistance against the army of the Zionist regime has immunized Lebanon in terms of security and it has led to the grounding of Israel and to its inability to carry out conspiracies against Lebanon.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the role of non-state actors in world developments increased, and in Lebanon, the Hezbollah movement was able to turn into one of the most influential actors, not only in this country but also in West Asia. With its Islamic and national policies and orientations and under the intelligent and courageous leadership of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, as well as its serious confrontation with the axis of evil in the region, namely the Zionist regime, Hezbollah has been beloved by the Lebanese people and by the Muslims of the world, and even emerged as an influential entity on an international scale.

Lebanon is a multi-ethnic country lacking a strong central government. This situation has constantly prepared the ground for potential for civil war. There is also no coherence among its governing institutions.

Structural features of Hezbollah and its irregular political arrangement have reduced the effectiveness of Israeli military strikes, resulting in the increase of the importance of irregular warfare in the Middle East security system.

During the recent massive explosion of the port of Beirut, Hezbollah acted tactfully and rejecting Israeli and American claims that Hezbollah had imported or accumulated weapons in the port, called on the Lebanese people to maintain unity and peace.

On the other hand, following the explosion of the port of Beirut, two political approaches have been pursued by the US, Saudi and Israeli officials and media. The first approach is to weaken Hezbollah through inciting the Lebanese public opinion to demand the disarmament of the Resistance. The second approach was to accuse Hassan Diab's government of corruption and negligence in preventing the explosion of the port of Beirut with the aim of overthrowing the government; which eventually led to the resignation of the government.

Despite the constant efforts of the propaganda speakers to weaken Hezbollah, the first approach, with a Western-Arab axis, was not embraced by the Lebanese people, and the rational and firm positions of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah poured cold water on the fire prepared by the enemy. Following the US embargo on Lebanon, the smart leader of Hezbollah worried the United States, by emphasizing the need to implementation of an economy of resistance and look into internal resources, as well as to strengthening the East-oriented approach in the foreign policy of Lebanon.

In effect, Hezbollah empowered the economic strength of the region under its influence by launching the "Agricultural and Industrial Resistance," and, practically, demonstrated that Lebanon could live without the United States if it wishes so. Under such circumstances, Macron convinced Trump that the US policies in Lebanon and its economic sanctions were wrong and has led to the strengthening of Hezbollah. Macron himself stepped in and hastened the overthrow of Hassan Diab's government by travelling to Beirut and offering preconditions for financial aid to Lebanon.

This time, too, Hezbollah took rational positions, welcomed international efforts to help Lebanon, and called it useful in the restoration of the damage caused by the Beirut explosion and reducing the country's economic problems.

It is noteworthy that the government of Hassan Diab was a so-called technocratic and non-partisan government in Lebanon, and prior to the establishment of this government, most Lebanese groups considered the formation of a technocratic government as a solution to the pain of Lebanon. The fall of Hassan Diab's government showed that the non-partisan and technocrat government in Lebanon lacks popular, partisan and even international support; and thus, once again, the truth of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah's words and his far-sighted political and social insight was confirmed. Before the formation of the technocrat government, the Hezbollah leader stated, "The very political forces that are seeking a technocrat government will be the first to try to overthrow it".

However, many Lebanese do not yet realize that the fall of Hassan Diab's government has thwarted his anti-corruption efforts, and the Lebanese people will continue to grapple with the current problems imposed by the Western-Arab axis interference.

At this juncture, for Lebanon to overcome the crisis ahead, it is the duty of the revolutionaries in the world of Islam to support the judicious plans and measures of Hezbollah as one of the elements of Lebanon's identity and Axis of Resistance.