The entry of Palestinian and Lebanese organizations into the confrontation line between the Lebanese Hezbollah group and the Israeli army in the south of the country raised several questions about whether the decision to introduce these organizations was aimed at multiplying the authority of the decision in the clashes occurring on the border between the two countries, or whether its purpose was sectarian diversity in the event of The “Great War” broke out between Hezbollah and Israel.
Recently, southern Lebanon has been experiencing war and skirmishes that experts have described as “controlled,” after Hezbollah bombed Israeli positions along the southern border, while Tel Aviv responded by targeting points belonging to the party and Lebanese and Palestinian organizations, via warplanes and drones, and the bombing continued. Al-Madfai: towns and villages in southern Lebanon, from which the fighting groups are launched.
This “restricted” war, which also includes Hezbollah’s targeting of the Israeli forces’ monitoring and surveillance devices, was matched by a tweet by Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, on Tuesday via the (X) platform, in which he said, “Hezbollah is in the heart of the resistance battle to defend… (Strip) Gaza, and in the face of the occupation and its aggression in Palestine, Lebanon, and the region, and his hand is on the trigger to the extent that he estimates is required in the confrontation.”
This required amount, according to Qassem’s expression and the estimates of the Hezbollah group, was the introduction of Palestinian and Lebanese organizations into the line of launching rockets at Israeli sites and settlements, during the past few days.
These organizations are represented by the “Al-Qassam Brigades”, the military arm of the “Hamas” movement, the “Al-Quds Brigades” the military wing of the “Jihad” movement, the “Fajr Forces” the military wing of the “Islamic Group” in Lebanon, and the “Resistance Brigades” affiliated with… Hezbollah,” which raises more than one question mark about the reasons for the multiple forces that entered the confrontation line with Israel.
Will the participation of these factions lead to a multiplicity of decision-making authorities in the south, or has Hezbollah brought these parties into the conflict with the aim of adding new sectarian dimensions to the confrontation? There is also a possibility that the group aims to bring these parties in to achieve two goals, the first of which is that the confrontation in the south is not limited to the Shiite Hezbollah affiliated with Iran, and to show that there are other Sunni political forces within the confrontation, to obtain Sunni cover from the local environment, and the second goal is From the regional-Arab Sunni environment if a “major war” broke out between the group and Israel.
“If they don’t intervene…then when?”
Journalist and political writer Amin Qamouria said in an interview with Al-Sharq that the Hamas and Jihad movements are concerned with the conflict, pointing out that Hezbollah considers that “this issue is theirs (Hamas and Jihad), so if they do not intervene at this moment When do they intervene?
He added: “Of course there was pressure on Hezbollah to control them,” but he considered that “Hezbollah cannot play the role of Israel’s policeman against the Palestinian groups. This is politically… As for the content, the goal behind this is to create a colorization process, to emphasize that “Whoever is carrying out these operations is not only the group, but everyone who is able to act on the Lebanese front. There are Palestinian factions, and most importantly, the Shiite Hezbollah is not alone, there are also Sunni factions.”
Qamouria stated, “It is clear that a restoration process was carried out for the bones of the Islamic Group, especially since its participation in military operations was weak, and it was not present at all in the national and Palestinian resistance, but it was included in the operation so that it could be said that there are Sunnis participating in the resistance, and it is not limited to Shiites. Moreover, there are also resistance brigades, and there is a process of revitalizing some Sunni groups in these brigades in the areas of Shebaa and Kafar Shuba in particular.”
Qammouriyeh pointed out, “There were two people from Sunni families who died, so that in the end it would be said to the Lebanese interior and the Arab outside that it is not the Shiite group that is concerned with the fight against Israel, but rather there are parties from the Sunni sect concerned with the matter.”
Qamouria said, “It is also not surprising to see other parties, such as the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, entering the battle, especially since it includes Christian elements ready to participate in the fight against Israel.”
He added: “There is no doubt that this is a message to the Sunnis in the Arab world that Hezbollah is not a Shiite party. It is, in the end, a national, Arab party, and the Palestinian issue is still a fundamental issue for it, and it does not distinguish between Shiite and Sunni.”
Eroding the Hezbollah myth
Former member of the Lebanese Parliament, Mustafa Alloush, said in an interview with Al-Sharq, “It is logical to ask about where all these organizations have been during the past years? Why were they not allowed to move over 4 decades? And how did Hezbollah single out the front, assassinations, and intelligence support?” Syria during its existence? In addition to preventing any other organization from reaching the south, even during the Israeli occupation of part of the south?
He added, “In those days (the occupation of the south), it was easy to exclude everyone from the confrontation and leave the arena to it without a partner, in order to account for the decision of the Iranian leadership and sometimes to coordinate with (the late) Syrian President Hafez al-Assad when needed, during the days in which the party built its legend.” Which captured the minds of Arabs and Muslims across the world, but the events of the last ten years, and the emergence of the role of the sectarian party in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as in Lebanon, eroded that myth and reduced popular support to rock bottom.”
He continued: “What is happening today in terms of allowing non-Shiite groups that are not affiliated with the Guardianship of the Jurist to adopt operations in the south may be partly directed at the Sunnis of the world, to attract support and regain some sympathy, but the party knows the difficulty of this matter in light of the change in the public mood, not only about its role. “It’s about the role of armed religious-political groups.”
Alloush said: “I see that the most important reason for what is happening is that these groups are using them as a cover that allows the group to maneuver and not engage in an open war that would drag international parties into it, especially in light of the presence of war fleets near Lebanese shores, and the party, which is aware of Israel’s critical military position, wants to give it The opportunity to avoid an open war in the south, without a full partnership with Washington. If Israel is unwilling to engage in this war to devote itself to Gaza, Hezbollah needs to move it somewhat to save face without exaggeration, especially since the regional and local conditions are not appropriate.”
“Coordination between resistance forces”
For his part, political writer Qasim Kassir said in an interview with Al-Sharq, “Operations have been escalated by several Islamic factions due to recent developments, and this is being done in cooperation and coordination with Hezbollah, and sometimes without coordination.”
He added that the “Islamic Group” has existed for a long time, and has the “Fajr Forces,” considering that “the situation in Palestine and what the Israeli forces are committing makes it difficult to control the situation.”
He added: “The Sunni street is ahead of all the forces today, and no one is polarizing it, because it is part of the battle in Palestine and the region, and what happened led to cooperation and coordination between all the resistance forces.”
2023-10-25 02:11:14
#factions #participate #Hezbollah #confrontations #southern #Lebanon
