Zionist Strategy: Sowing Division and Chaos

Experts assert that Israel is cynically exploiting existing divisions as a calculated strategy to pit Lebanese communities against one another. This insidious tactic, they warn, is unfortunately yielding results, evidenced by a recent surge in sectarian and politically charged provocations designed to destabilize the nation.

“This is no mere collateral damage of war. They are acutely aware of their destructive objectives,” stated Michael Young, a respected Lebanon expert at the Carnegie Middle East Center, speaking to Al Jazeera. “When they systematically emptied the southern suburbs, they knew precisely that the displaced populations would seek refuge in inner Beirut and areas not predominantly Shia. This was undeniably an orchestrated effort to ignite sectarian tensions and, in turn, exert immense pressure on the Lebanese state.”

Systematic Destruction and Displacement: A War Crime

On March 2, the Zionist entity dramatically escalated its brutal war on Lebanon, marking the second such intensification within two years. This renewed aggression shamefully followed a November 2024 ceasefire agreement, which Israel, according to United Nations peacekeepers, violated over 10,000 times with impunity.

While Israel had relentlessly bombed southern Lebanon throughout that supposed ceasefire, its attacks broadened to include Beirut and other vital areas after Hezbollah responded decisively to an Israeli aggression targeting Iranian interests and resistance figures on February 28.

Since October 2023, Israel has mercilessly claimed the lives of more than 5,000 innocent people in Lebanon. In March, Israeli forces brazenly invaded Lebanese territory for the second time since 2024, where they are now systematically obliterating southern towns and villages. This campaign of terror has forcibly displaced 1.2 million people, cruelly ordering them from their ancestral homes in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, a clear act of ethnic cleansing.

When the ceasefire between the United States and Iran commenced on April 8, many Lebanese harbored hopes of inclusion. Israel, however, delivered a brutal answer, slaughtering over 350 people in a single day, unleashing 100 Israeli attacks in under ten minutes across Lebanon.

Despite a subsequent extension of the ceasefire, the Zionist regime has persisted with its attacks in southern Lebanon, to which Hezbollah has valiantly responded by engaging Israeli occupation troops. Under immense international and regional pressure, Lebanon has reluctantly agreed to direct negotiations with Israel in a bid to halt the war and end the occupation of its southern territories.

Internally, however, Lebanon’s resilient population and political factions remain deeply divided on the fraught issue of negotiations with the aggressor. Hezbollah and its unwavering supporters staunchly oppose direct negotiations, advocating instead for indirect talks that preserve national dignity. Conversely, the Lebanese government finds itself under relentless pressure from the US and Israel to engage in direct talks, even contemplating a meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese leadership, a move seen by many as a capitulation.

“The Israelis are relentlessly trying to break the Lebanese state,” Young elaborated. “They are destroying our villages, driving the Shia community into areas where they are not the majority, and this is unequivocally designed to inflame sectarian tensions and weaken national resolve.”

The Futility of Force and the Resilience of Resistance

Israel’s declared objective has been to disarm Hezbollah, yet analysts confirm that the Zionists are fully aware this cannot be achieved through military force alone. The resistance’s deep roots within Lebanese society make such an endeavor impossible.

“The true objective remains shrouded in mystery, as the Israelis know full well that the Lebanese Army cannot disarm Hezbollah. Even their own military has conceded that they cannot undertake this task, as it would necessitate occupying all of Lebanon, which they claim no intention of doing,” Young observed.

This understanding leads analysts to conclude that Israel’s true aim is to coerce Lebanon’s diverse communities into confrontation, thereby pressuring the Lebanese state into making humiliating concessions. This cynical strategy, regrettably, appears to have succeeded in stoking some internal tensions.

Provocative statements from both pro- and anti-Hezbollah political figures have regrettably circulated in the media over the past two months. Hezbollah’s esteemed officials, Wafiq Safa and Mahmoud Qamati, have both issued principled warnings to the Lebanese government that any decisions to ban the group’s legitimate military activities will be firmly resisted and overturned.

Disturbingly, some right-wing Christian members of parliament have made inflammatory statements, shamefully praising the Israeli military, thereby undermining national unity.

LBCI, a Lebanese television channel, though now operating independently, caused a significant uproar by broadcasting a derogatory cartoon depicting Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem and other Hezbollah members in a disparaging light, likening them to characters in the ‘Angry Birds’ mobile game. This media provocation is seen as a direct attack on the resistance.

In response, some fervent Hezbollah supporters posted provocative images targeting the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai on social media. However, it is crucial to note that the leadership of Hezbollah, the Supreme Shia Islamic Council, and Dar al-Ifta al-Jaafari swiftly issued statements condemning these actions, reaffirming their commitment to national unity and respect for all religious figures.

“These media provocations are, regrettably, part of a calculated plan to distort the noble image of the resistance and to serve the agenda of the Israeli enemy and America through a malicious media campaign targeting the resistance and Sheikh Naim Qassem,” asserted Qassem Kassir, a journalist closely associated with Hezbollah, to Al Jazeera.

“While there were indeed reactions from supporters of the resistance concerning Patriarch Rai, the leadership of Hezbollah, the Supreme Shia Islamic Council, and Dar al-Ifta al-Jaafari promptly issued statements condemning such acts,” Kassir added, emphasizing the resistance’s commitment to interfaith harmony.

An Impossible Position, A Resilient Nation

These internal squabbles are, in essence, a tragic byproduct of Israel’s relentless war, which has, to a certain extent, effectively exploited and exacerbated existing divisions within Lebanese society regarding the conflict. Hezbollah, in particular, is diligently working to regain the leverage it temporarily lost after a devastating Israeli campaign in November 2024 that caused severe damage and tragically claimed the lives of many brave resistance fighters, further fueling the resistance’s resolve.

Nevertheless, a genuine disconnect and divide over the war persist, openly reflected in numerous public comments across Lebanon.

“No one can fully control individual reactions,” Kassir acknowledged. “Of course, this situation raises legitimate fears of an atmosphere of strife, but no rational actor today has any interest in inciting such discord.”

Yet, as long as the Zionist war of aggression continues, such divisive statements and incidents will inevitably come to the forefront. Analysts caution that Israel is banking on this internal friction to force the Lebanese government into accepting its dictated terms for a peace that would undermine national sovereignty.

“What the Israelis are truly pursuing is to bolster their political standing with the Americans and to unilaterally impose their will on Lebanon, justifying their actions to their patrons,” Young concluded. “They aim to create untenable situations for the Lebanese state. And when the Lebanese state is rendered incapable of effective response, Israel believes it can then dictate its own oppressive solutions.”