Lebanon’s armed group and political party Hezbollah is working hard to achieve good results in the country’s municipal elections. At a time when Lebanon’s armed groups are being called to disarm, and while Jewish attacks are targeting Lebanon, increasing Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanon’s political arena is something the party desires. Although the group was weakened by Jewish attacks on Lebanon over the past year, they want to show that they are still a strong and formidable force.
In the three rounds of voting held so far this month, Iran-backed Hezbollah has achieved good results. Hezbollah is a strong party in southern Lebanon, and since many districts in that area have not fielded candidates against the party, Hezbollah has secured easy and quick victories in those districts. When the Jews began aggressive attacks on Gaza in Palestine in October 2023, Hezbollah targeted the Jews in support of Hamas. With that, the Jews also launched strong attacks on Lebanon and started a war. That war has caused great damage to Lebanon. A large number of Hezbollah leaders and thousands of fighters have been martyred. As a result, Hezbollah has been greatly weakened. And Hezbollah’s influence over Lebanon has also diminished. In that situation, other Lebanese groups and parties rival to Hezbollah have become stronger. Under the latest ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and the Jews, the Lebanese government has announced that it will take control of the weapons of armed groups operating in the country.
Mohanad Hage Ali, affiliated with the Carnegie Middle East Center, a think tank analyzing the political landscape, said that the results of the election so far indicate that the war’s objectives of reducing Hezbollah’s power and undermining its popularity have not been achieved. Instead, he said that many Lebanese Shiites believe their future is tied to Hezbollah. Hage said that the results Hezbollah achieves in the ongoing election are very important. He said it shows that Hezbollah represents a large part of Lebanon’s Shiite population. He added that any attempt by Lebanon to forcibly disarm Hezbollah would be seen as working against society and could affect civil peace and stability. Hezbollah’s possession of weapons is a cause of division in Lebanon. It led to internal unrest in Lebanon in 2008. Some people believe that Hezbollah has dragged Lebanon into Middle Eastern issues.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji said that foreign countries refuse to help rebuild Lebanon, which has suffered great damage from the war, unless the weapons of various armed groups in the country are brought under state control. The US State Department has also said that while the US wants to help rebuild Lebanon, this will not happen unless Hezbollah dis Hezbollah disarms. The ministry has noted that working transparently and bringing economic reforms are the most important steps to revive Lebanon’s economy. However, Hezbollah has accused the government of being responsible for the delays in rebuilding the country. The group says that while the government claims to be working to rebuild the country, it has failed to complete the necessary steps to start the work. Hezbollah said that there are no longer weapons of the group in the southern regions of Lebanon. However, Hezbollah continues to say that the retention of its remaining weapons is linked to the Jews leaving the five positions they have established in the area and the end of Jewish attacks.
The World Bank has estimated that it will cost $11 billion to rebuild Lebanon. The country does not have the money needed for reconstruction. However, work is underway to remove and clean up the debris from buildings destroyed in the war. Lebanon’s current situation is different from the time when Hezbollah and the Jews were exchanging attacks in 2006. At that time, Iran and Arab countries were providing assistance to Lebanon. In the current situation, Hezbollah says it is providing assistance to more than 400,000 people. They say they are helping with rent payments, furniture acquisition, and home repairs. However, it appears that the amount of money available for these things is much less than in 2006. Hezbollah says that even if Iran tries to provide money to the group, the state obstructs it. However, Iran’s financial situation is also worse now compared to twenty years ago. This is because the US has strengthened its sanctions against that country.
Gulf countries slowed down spending on Hezbollah when the group began to enter into regional issues. Like the US, Gulf countries designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in 2016. Saudi Arabia is also calling for all weapons in Lebanon to be brought under state control, as the Lebanese government has been calling for. Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, said that it is the government’s responsibility to find the money needed to rebuild the country. He said the government has failed to carry out this task satisfactorily. He further said that if the current division in Lebanon is not eliminated, the country will not find stability. He said that one part of the country cannot have peace while another part is suffering. He was referring to the situation of Shiites living in southern Lebanon and other areas. They are the ones most affected by Jewish attacks.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called on Hezbollah to hold national defense consultations. However, these consultations have not yet begun.
