\n
<\/p>\n
Hezbollah rejected a proposal to evacuate Ali Al-Taher ridge \u2014 which sits north of the Litani River and is part of the strategic high ground around Nabatiyeh \u2014 and transfer it to the Lebanese army. In other words, Hezbollah challenged Lebanese sovereignty. Subsequently, Hezbollah lost control of the ridge to the Israeli army, which established operational control and destroyed the group\u2019s tunnels and underground facilities.<\/p>\n
This standpoint should not come as a surprise, but it proved once again that Hezbollah is not a resistance movement but an insurrectionist organization against the state of Lebanon. There is no other description. Hezbollah\u2019s first enemy is a strong and stable Lebanese state.<\/p>\n
This action was also an indirect rejection of the Lebanese government\u2019s plan to disarm Hezbollah and of the US-sponsored Lebanese-Israeli framework for Israel\u2019s withdrawal. While Ali Al-Taher was not one of the original pilot zones, it was discussed as a possibility and the opportunity to avoid continued fighting in the area existed. Hezbollah ultimately chose to see the Israeli flag fly over Lebanon instead of the Lebanese one.<\/p>\n
So, while Lebanon is seeking to achieve real peace with Israel and exit the never-ending cycle of violence and death, Hezbollah is seeking the opposite. It wants to maintain the occupation so that it can claim the need for resistance and justify the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps\u2019 role in the country.<\/p>\n
\nHezbollah is not a resistance movement but an insurrectionist organization against the state of Lebanon<\/p>\n
Khaled Abou Zahr<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
For this reason, it is high time that Lebanese commentators stopped referring to Hezbollah as Lebanese. This is a tool of a foreign occupying force that will continue destroying Lebanon for the nefarious goals of its patrons in Tehran. By continuing to state that Hezbollah is Lebanese, they are protecting an entity that is challenging Lebanon before any outside force. Moreover, this narrative is viciously deflecting from the disarmament plan.<\/p>\n
The Lebanese army needs to start understanding that if it is unwilling to challenge Hezbollah\u2019s control over the pilot zones, it will become accountable for the destruction these zones continue to suffer from. More importantly, is it willing to find a way to execute the disarmament plan?<\/p>\n
Thankfully, we are now seeing politicians and commentators willing to courageously stand up to Hezbollah and address the need for disarmament. This is the only way to achieve peace and start building Lebanon without going through regular cycles of war and destruction. There is a need to go further and see more popular pressure or support \u2014 call it what you want \u2014 on the army and the country\u2019s leadership to execute the disarmament plan.<\/p>\n
The time for talking has ended. The greater risk the country faces is continued isolation. How long will the US and other countries continue to subsidize the Lebanese army if no real progress is achieved in the coming months? Some policymakers have already started highlighting that the Lebanese army is unwilling to support the disarmament plan. Hence, international support will dry up sooner than people think. As a quick reminder, over the last five years, the US has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in military and security assistance to the Lebanese army. Since 2006, the amount has exceeded $3 billion.\u202f<\/p>\n
\nThe IRGC\u2019s goal is not to stop the Lebanese people\u2019s suffering but to keep control over part of the Mediterranean<\/p>\n
Khaled Abou Zahr<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It is also important to stop being fooled by the IRGC\u2019s condition of including Lebanon in any ceasefire during its on-off negotiations with the US. Its goal is not to stop the people\u2019s suffering but to keep control over part of the Mediterranean. Let us not forget that Iran has lost its leverage in Syria to greater influence from Turkiye. It will fight to keep its grip on Lebanon until the country is destroyed.<\/p>\n
The flawed binary the IRGC and Hezbollah are imposing on Lebanon is that the choice is between Hezbollah and Israeli occupation. Therefore, they accuse you of treason if you do not choose them. This is false. The real choice in front of the population and the armed forces is between Hezbollah and Lebanese sovereignty. We now need the Lebanese state\u2019s monopoly on arms and the legitimate use of force to build the next phase of the country. We need to highlight that Hezbollah is the real traitor for refusing to allow the Lebanese flag to fly over the entire country.<\/p>\n
On top of that, Hezbollah is losing all its confrontations and its capacities are being destroyed. Financial sanctions are also adding pressure and weakening it. The US Treasury Department last month redesignated the \u200cgroup as \u201cfor service to the Iranian regime under the command of the IRGC-Quds Force.\u201d So, why is the Lebanese army waiting to take control of the pilot zones, which is the agreed way forward to bring Lebanon\u2019s sovereignty to life for the first time since its founding? And how long will Lebanon\u2019s leaders continue to try betting on regional shifts?<\/p>\n
It is clear that some people are betting on the IRGC being the winner of the geopolitical shift that is taking place in the region \u2014 and that is a great mistake. The reality is that, despite its disconnected claim to victory, it has already lost, it just does not know it yet. While the challenges will continue, sovereignty is the only way to protect Lebanon and provide the best chance for future stability. Lebanon needs its army to empower this transition now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nKhaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.<\/p>\n