Lebanon's interest lies in disengaging from Gaza

Hamas has rejected linking Gaza to Lebanon, despite the fact that among the victims of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation was the return of the Israeli occupation to the south for the first time since 2000. From this standpoint, there is no reason for official Lebanon and the "party" (Hezbollah), which decided to wage a "support war for Gaza," to live according to the aftermath of the Gaza war. Lebanon, from now on, is expected to have its own calculations, especially since Hamas disengaged from the "party" as soon as it escaped the Iranian grip.

Hamas broke free from Iran the day it agreed to the plan of US President Donald Trump, which begins with the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of about two thousand Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.

It was notable in the negotiations that culminated in the movement's release of the twenty living Israeli hostages it was holding, that there was no mention of the Lebanese "party's" prisoners in Israel.

Also notable was the US President's reference, in the speech he delivered before the Israeli Knesset, to President Michel Aoun's efforts to disarm the "party." He said in this regard: "My administration supports the Lebanese President in his endeavors to disarm the 'party'." It seems the President of the Republic understood the American signal. He very explicitly declared a readiness to negotiate, conditional on Israel stopping its aggressions against Lebanon, despite the fact that these aggressions are linked to the "party's" insistence on keeping its weapons.

Lebanon Has No Cards of Strength

The problem is that Israel occupies Lebanese land and not the other way around, and that Lebanon has no elements of strength that would enable it to impose its conditions on Israel if it wants an Israeli withdrawal as a prelude to rebuilding the destroyed villages along the border strip with Israel. Moreover, if Lebanon believes that the "party's" weapon is an element of strength, it is no secret that this weapon has a single function: to justify the occupation of the five positions that Israel controls inside Lebanon.

As usual, there is no Lebanese comprehension of what is happening in the region. Since before 1970, shortly after Suleiman Kabalan Frangieh was elected president, Lebanon has remained incapable of comprehending what is happening in the region and how to deal with the major shifts within it.

Lebanon

In 1970, Lebanon failed to understand the meaning of Hafez al-Assad's monopolization of power in Syria, paving the way for the establishment of a sectarian (Alawite) regime that excludes the Sunni majority, specifically the Sunnis of the cities, from power. There was no Lebanese comprehension of the dimensions of the great coup in Syria, especially in light of the role played by Hafez al-Assad when he was Minister of Defense in 1967 in handing over the Golan to Israel.

Lebanon did not understand, or more accurately, did not exert itself to understand the meaning of the points of understanding reached by Hafez al-Assad with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 1974. The goal of those points was nothing but to cement the Israeli occupation of the Golan on one hand, in exchange for Syrian guarantees for Israel's security on the other. More importantly, the points of understanding with Kissinger aimed to secure Israeli guarantees for the continuity of the Alawite regime.

A Call for Integration into the Regional System

Does Lebanon under Joseph Aoun understand, in light of Bashar al-Assad's escape from Damascus and the return of the Sunnis to rule Syria, that its interest lies in setting a specific agenda for the country that takes into account that it did not take part in the Sharm El-Sheikh summit? Does Lebanon comprehend that what was stated by Donald Trump in the Knesset was an invitation to integrate into the new regional system?

There is no guarantee that this new regional system called for by the US President will be established. In contrast, the Lebanese need to defend the country's interests seems to be based on permanently disengaging from Gaza on one hand, and refusing to succumb to the blackmail of those calling for providing funds for reconstruction without considering what Israel wants and what its real intentions are, on the other.

The Lebanese government's submission to demands to allocate funds in the budget for reconstruction would be nothing but a disguised plunder aimed at bailing out the "party," nothing more. Lebanon has no ability to prevent Israel from continuing its systematic destruction of Lebanese villages, even villages far from the border strip, as recently happened in Al-Masayleh.

Only logic defends Lebanon. Logic says that it is possible to benefit from the atmosphere of peace in the region and from disengagement from Gaza. It is not unlikely, without a swift and bold move by Lebanon, that the country will be among the victims of the post-Gaza war, instead of being among those who benefit from the cessation of the war, even if temporarily.

Lebanon is No Longer a Priority!

There is no room for any Lebanese conditions of any kind on Israel. Unless, that is, Lebanon wants to continue living in illusions. What became clear from Trump's speech in Israel is that Lebanon is no longer an American priority, but rather part of the US President's vision for the future of the region, meaning part of rosy dreams.

We cannot bet on these rosy dreams. This is confirmed by the practices of Hamas in Gaza, which rushed to carry out field executions as soon as the Israeli bombardment stopped. Instead of living in rosy dreams, it would be useful for Lebanon to ask itself: How can it regain its occupied land? And how can reconstruction begin? What are the conditions for reconstruction?

This begins by benefiting from the disengagement with Gaza instead of attacking the Lebanese state and accusing Nawaf Salam of treason. What people like Mufti Ahmad Kabalan say to the people of the south, the suburbs (Dahieh), and the Bekaa — that is, to the Shiites — that "your state is besieging you and tightening the noose around your necks," is not true but rather a misleading operation.

The one who besieges Lebanon and all the Lebanese is the one who dragged Lebanon into the "support war for Gaza," and everyone who did not utter a single word condemning the involvement of Lebanon in a war that cannot truly end without a price that must inevitably be paid.

Khairallah Khairallah is a Lebanese writer

The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Middle East Online.