Hezbollah found itself under new attack this week, and not from Israel.
Seven supporters of Hezbollah and its Shiite political partner, Amal, were killed on Thursday when gunfire broke out at a Beirut protest. Hezbollah and Amal were protesting for the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar, who is investigating last August’s disastrous Beirut port explosion. That incident killed 218 people and is seen by many Lebanese as a metaphor for the nation’s endemic corruption and seething popular anger. Hezbollah fears its allies will fall to justice if Bitar is allowed to continue his work.
But Thursday’s violence appeared to catch Hezbollah off guard. Its fighters responded with wild gun and rocket fire into residential buildings. Hezbollah leaders quickly blamed supporters of a smaller Christian party, the Lebanese Forces — not to be mistaken for the Lebanese armed forces. In turn, the Lebanese Forces blamed Hezbollah for intruding into a neighborhood under its control.
On Friday, however, Hezbollah appeared to take a somewhat conciliatory tone. While its supporters raged at funerals for their fallen, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council pledged to avoid a new civil war.
His words reflect a recognition that the political winds are no longer at Hezbollah’s back.
The Shiite militia-political entity has long held de facto dominion over Lebanese politics. Unashamedly leveraging its militia power against critics and adversaries, it has boosted the power of its otherwise relatively small parliamentary bloc. But years of escalating economic crises have undermined Hezbollah’s central narrative: Namely that as long as its red lines were respected and its struggle against Israel tolerated, it would maintain the status quo.
For most Lebanese, the status quo is no longer acceptable.
Infuriated by Hezbollah’s resistance to political reforms, multi-sectarian resistance is rising against the group. A main contention here is Hezbollah’s rejection of a technocratic government that would be able to reform Lebanon’s sclerotic, sectarian political system. Originally intended to ensure that none of Lebanon’s major sectarian groups, Christian, Shiite, or Sunni, could dominate the others, the system has reinforced deep corruption and inefficiency. Lebanon’s finance sector has imploded as years of currency manipulation finally crashed into reality. With infrastructure funds siphoned off by crooked politicians, the energy sector has also collapsed. Power cuts last week portend a growing crisis. Making matters worse, the central government lacks the revenue to pay its bills. An international bailout is on the cards, but only if true political reform occurs.
Yet Hezbollah refuses to give an inch.
The Iranian-backed “Party of God” remains supported by its geriatric ally, President Michel Aoun. The founder and de facto leader of a major Christian party, the Free Patriotic Movement, Aoun relies upon networks of patronage and unaccountable power. He shares Hezbollah’s fear that true reform would mean an end to the good times for himself and his party. So he’s willing to see Lebanon burn before he gives in.
Lebanese people of all sectarian colors are taking notice. More importantly, they’re increasingly willing to place blame. Evincing this popular anger, in August, four Hezbollah operatives were seized by Druze villagers in Southern Lebanon. The operatives had just launched a rocket attack on the Israeli Golan Heights, and the villagers feared that Israel might retaliate against their settlement. So they took bold action that not so long ago would have been unthinkable: They took on Hezbollah and won.
Taken separately, the port explosion, operatives seizure, and Thursday’s gun battle might seem to be isolated incidents. But taken together, they show how the once-vaunted “resistance” is facing very serious resistance of its own from the Lebanese people.
