For the past forty years, Hezbollah’s anti-Israel rhetoric and war cries — echoed as fervently in times of peace as in war — have failed to convince public opinion that it genuinely opposes Israel under all circumstances.
The latest conflict has exposed a different reality: Hezbollah is far more committed to defending its arsenal than to confronting Israel. Its weapons are the top priority, outranking any real fight against Israel, even as it tries to deceive the public into believing that eradicating Israel and liberating the land are its primary objectives.
The current war presented Hezbollah with ample justification to challenge the status quo and eliminate any signs that Israel might be unable to recover. Yet, it chose not to act. Instead, it has proven to be weaker than a spider’s web, with its interests overlapping with those of Israel at multiple junctures.
The first point is that Hezbollah does not seek to eliminate Israel; instead, it aims to coexist with it peacefully along the border, using the pretext of resistance and combat to justify maintaining its weapons.
Secondly, and most importantly, the highest threshold for indirect negotiations with Israel in recent times has been, at best, Resolution 1701, while at worst, it has meant allowing Israel to violate Lebanon’s sovereignty with impunity. These positions represent a significant setback for Hezbollah, yet it portrays them as victories. Why? Because its primary goal remains the preservation of its weapons, using them to gain political leverage and impose its agenda by force.
Had Hezbollah truly been focused on liberating the land, its first priority would have been the Shebaa Farms and Kfarshouba Hills, not the southern border in support of Gaza. Once war with Israel fully erupted, the fight would have been for land liberation, not for acceptance of Resolution 1701 or a ceasefire, which has now become Hezbollah’s central demand.
Hezbollah is now unequivocal: Leave my weapons untouched internally, and it’s acceptable if they remain north of the Litani. Don’t focus on the Shebaa Farms or Kfarshouba Hills — liberating them would negate my very existence. In fact, it is suitable for me to have Israeli-occupied territory and keep the conflict with Israel alive, while ensuring the people of the north (of Israel) are safe, as Israel desires, on the condition that my weapons continue to shape political realities.
There is no other explanation for Hezbollah’s actions, whether directly or through proxies.
Given this, is there any justification for what’s happening, other than that Hezbollah serves Israel’s interests, as long as they align with its political existence and the dominance it asserts in Lebanon? This is the harsh truth that has transformed Hezbollah from a so-called ‘resistance’ movement — one that many never fully believed in — into a de facto agent of Israel’s agenda, deceiving fewer and fewer.
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