Hezbollah is facing increasing pressure in Lebanon from the Lebanese government.
In the past, it generally received appeasement or support from Lebanon’s authorities, sometimes due to the fear of Lebanon’s political leaders who remembered that Hezbollah had murdered former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri back in 2005, as well as other politicians, intellectuals, and officials.
For instance, Hezbollah likely murdered Lokman Slim, a Shi’ite publisher.
It is therefore surprising to read new reports that Hezbollah is now facing some pressure from authorities in Beirut. Al-Ain media in the UAE reported on May 29 that “in a remarkable development, the Lebanese army, with indirect support from Israeli intelligence, has dismantled Hezbollah’s network in southern Lebanon.”
The report follows claims made in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that Lebanon’s army is able to dismantle Hezbollah posts and find weapons held by the terror organization.
Al-Ain noted that “this progress, which US and Israeli officials described as a ‘positive surprise,’ is a cornerstone in maintaining the fragile ceasefire that ended a wave of violence with Israel last year, according to The Wall Street Journal.”
The report says that the new Lebanese government, led by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, is moving quickly to consolidate this achievement.
Salam says that “the state must monopolize the possession of weapons throughout Lebanon.” The report may be a bit rosy, relying on Salam, who says the Lebanese government has achieved about 80% of its goals in disarming militias in the far south of the country.
The Al-Ain report goes on to say, “According to high-level Arab sources, crucial Israeli intelligence was relayed via American channels, enabling the Lebanese army to identify and destroy remaining weapons caches and Hezbollah military positions in the south.”
This has enabled the Lebanese army to expand its control south of the Litani River. This has been a demand going back decades, and the Lebanese army has generally failed in this mission. It’s worth recalling that before Hezbollah ran southern Lebanon, Palestinian terrorist groups used to attack Israel from there in the 1970s, leading to the Litani operation in 1976 and the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
Now the Lebanese army claims it is able to extend its control “for the first time in decades,’ the Al-Ain report says. The army now runs “entry and exit points that had previously been under the exclusive control of the [Hezbollah] party.” Furthermore, “the disarmament plan extends beyond the south, where the government is promoting a multi-stage strategy that includes disarming Palestinian factions within the camps.”
But Hezbollah is not finished yet. “According to analysts, Hezbollah is seeking to exploit its current cooperation to gain political leverage, especially given Lebanon’s urgent need for reconstruction funding without antagonizing the party.”
Hezbollah was built over several decades with Iranian support
Furthermore, “the mission carries significant risks. Hezbollah, which has built its strength over four decades with Iranian support, has a broad popular base despite the blows it has recently suffered.”
With the Assad regime gone, Hezbollah may be cut off from weapons smuggled in from Syria. Syria’s new government has intercepted shipments and is also hosting the new US Envoy Tom Barrack this week, further illustrating how Syria may help play a key role in stabilizing the region.
This will aid Lebanon in the long run. Photos from the Syrian Ministry of Defense showed that Barrack’s visit to Damascus on May 29 included an officer from the US Army and US Marines. The US has helped defeat ISIS in Syria by backing the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Free Army.
Al-Ain notes that “the question about the fate of the disarmament process north of the Litani River raises deep fears that the country could slide into internal violence. The Lebanese army, which has historically avoided confrontation with Hezbollah, suffers from poor equipment and sectarian divisions in a country with a fragile structure.”
This information is based on The Wall Street Journal report. “We do not want to return the country to the path of civil war, but this will not deter us from strengthening the authority of the state,” Salam said.
The IDF continues to strike Hezbollah. On May 29, an IDF aircraft struck a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of the Beaufort Ridge in southern Lebanon.
“The terrorist was rehabilitating a site used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to manage its fire and defense array. The activity at the site constitutes a blatant violation of the understanding between Israel and Lebanon. The site was struck several times by the IDF over the past weeks,” the IDF said.
The IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, was in Northern Command this week as well in northern Israel. “We will continue to operate, remove threats, and weaken Hezbollah to protect the communities in the North and the State of Israel. The Northern Command has changed the security reality in the region and strengthened security along the border,” he said.
On Tuesday, the IDF said it struck and eliminated the commander of the Yater complex of Hezbollah, and that on Monday, it struck and eliminated a terrorist from Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in the area of Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon.