The sacred month of Ramadan promises to be tumultuous given the Israeli airstrikes in Baalbeck yesterday evening and this morning. Yet the Lebanese political class remains unmoved by the events unfolding along the southern and eastern borders of the country. Paralyzed or indifferent, no one really knows.
However, the situation is alarming, despite the attempts of the caretaker government to persuade us otherwise. A Council of Ministers, chaired by a resigning Prime Minister (in every sense of the word) sporting a slight smile before the cameras, striving to convey both reassurance and confidence that the confrontations in the South will not extend beyond the conflict zone, inshallah—God willing. An attitude that would undoubtedly leave many disconcerted when confronted with such laxity and carelessness. The inhabitants of the South can indeed bear witness to this.
Najib Mikati, the current interim Chief Executive known for rounding the edges and focusing on his personal agenda, has made minimal efforts to ease tensions in the southern region of the country. Neither he nor any members of his Cabinet have visited the South since the front opened on October 8.
Why would he bother, when his primary ally, Hezbollah, handles affairs that do not directly concern him? Why would he look after the communities of the neighboring southern border villages that have been witnessing their families perish and their belongings go up in flames? Why would he ask about their needs and fight for their security when the pro-Iranian formation tightens its hold on the region through the deployment of illegal arms? Why would he be concerned about his country’s territorial sovereignty, its independence and the state’s monopoly over armed forces or the implementation of UN resolutions? Why would he request the deployment of the Lebanese army (LAF) to the border?
No! Mikati would rather meet international envoys to reiterate the same promises and deplore his incapacity to govern and manage the issues of all the Lebanese people. But ultimately, who can blame him? Compelled by allegiance, he must play Hezbollah’s game—the formation to which he owes his current position—as it meticulously strives to raise the stakes on the market of regional negotiations.
Nonetheless, Najib Mikati is not the sole individual to blame in this affair, though he stands as one of the principal culprits, apart from Hezbollah. In fact, his insipid and useless government continues to demonstrate, over the days, its incompetence and inefficiency in controlling the situation, starting with the caretaker ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense.
The former, Abdallah Bou Habib, leading the pack, proudly touts his diplomatic career. However, he continually chains media gesticulations, diplomatic misdemeanors, aberrations and scandalous declarations. This prompts questions about his real mandate to speak on behalf of the country, given his ignorance of his prerogatives and the boundaries of his position. Fortunately, international envoys, particularly US envoy Amos Hochstein and British Minister of Foreign Affairs David Cameron, do not even bother to consult or meet with him, recognizing it as a waste of time.
The latter, Maurice Slim, appears to be neither interested nor concerned by his responsibilities as Minister of Defense, despite the turmoil raging in southern Lebanon. Slim, formerly a part of the LAF, is supposed to fight for the deployment of the sole legal and legitimate military institution entrusted with safeguarding territorial sovereignty and national security. Instead, he clearly prefers to hand over the reins to a pro-Iranian and anti-Lebanese militia that serves the interests of an obstructionist country, thus jeopardizing Lebanon’s security at the expense of the national army. His sole priority remains, undoubtedly, the appointments within institutions and communal power-sharing—an obsession he shares with his allies in the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM).
As for the “conquering ministers,” namely the caretaker Minister of Energy, Walid Fayad, and the Minister of Social Affairs, Hector Hajjar, who benefited from intense media coverage when they “valiantly” visited the southern border on August 30, 2022 to repel the Israeli army by throwing stones, there have been no comments or activities from their ministries in support of the southern residents. It’s evident now that they might feel more secure “beyond, beyond the North of the Litani…”
