From War to Peace

Haifa, Beirut and many other Lebanese and Israeli towns and villages are under fire. Who would have thought this possible a few weeks ago? Across the globe, the reaction to the images of destruction and death in Lebanon, but also in Gaza and Israel has been one of abhorrence.

Of course, it was well known that Hezbollah – viewed with good reason as a terrorist organization – had been stockpiling an arsenal of Katyusha rockets, as well as longer-range guided missiles. Nor was it a secret that Hezbollah operates as a state within a state, with its own highly motivated private army and terrorist structures. It is Hezbollah, not the Lebanese government and its army, which has controlled the Lebanese-Israeli border ever since Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

Although Hezbollah presides over two ministers in the Lebanese government and several members of parliament, it does not act in the interest of the Lebanese state. Rather, its interests are defined in Damascus and Teheran, where much of its arsenal originates. This outside control is the principle cause of the present tragedy, which essentially constitutes a “proxy war.”

https://prosyn.org/qCbRE0F