This past week, protests and rebellion have made a reappearance in Lebanon. After sheltering in place because of coronavirus, the masses took to the streets to demonstrate against another, no less dangerous, plague that has been attacking Lebanon for years and which they can't seem to shake off. The protesters set fire to banks, blocked traffic, and clashed with security forces over the nation's economic distress, lack of jobs, and even the budding shortages and hunger.
The coals of popular protest have been burning for many months now, even before the arrival of the winter rain and the virus. Criticism is aimed as the "system" in Lebanon that creates corruption and paralyzes state institutions. This time, the new government – which was just established in an attempt to handle the economic crisis – was also targeted. But the ones who should be most worried by the resurgence of the protests are Hassan Nasrallah and his Hezbollah organization, whom many Lebanese see as responsible for the crisis.
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For years, Hezbollah was able to control what happened in Lebanon from behind the scenes and maneuver the government in Beirut to do its bidding, while Hezbollah presented itself as the opposition representing the weak and oppressed in Lebanese society, particularly the Shiites, in their fight for social justice. Hezbollah also presumed to promise the Lebanese that its ongoing battle against Israel would not only not harm Lebanon but would bolster the country, allowing the citizens to continue living in comfort, freedom, and prosperity as the conflict went on.
But Hezbollah's protective masks have been ripped off one after the other, and the organization has been exposed as an entity likely to wreak greater disaster than corona.
The fires started at the end of last year after the Lebanese economy collapsed and the government was helpless to address the crisis. Hezbollah, which came under criticism as the "strong man" of the country, was at first embarrassed, then rushed to exploit the protests to put in place a government in which it and its allies could set the tone, a government that would not interfere with it and would not criticize its conduct. But the economic problems in Lebanon only grew worse when corona arrived. The Lebanese lira lost 100% of its value in the space of a few weeks, and over half the Lebanese were driven into conditions of dire poverty.
Now the Lebanese are starting to acknowledge that the crisis demands that they fight not only corona, but also Hezbollah, which has turned Lebanon into a pariah nation and made it difficult for it to receive international aid. Only recently did Germany declare the entire Hezbollah organization – not only its military arm – a terrorist entity.
Despite the troubles at home, Hezbollah wants to send a message of "business as usual" when it comes to Israel. Only a week ago, Hezbollah fighters breached the Israeli border, seeking to send a threatening message about what could happen if Israel dared to attack Hezbollah or Iranian assets in Syria. But it was actually a message of weakness, and like the previous times in the past few years, such as after Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani was killed, it turns out that both Hezbollah and its Iranian patron talk a big game but do little, and are deterred and afraid right now that any escalation would not be to their benefit.
All the organization wants is to be left alone so it and the Iranians can keep building up their forces. But it seems that the last thing Israel must do right now is let up the pressure if what it wants is to oust the Iranians from Syria and weaken Hezbollah.
