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Source: https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/85131
Hizbullah Has Alienated Many Lebanese
(Carnegie Middle East Center-Lebanon) Michael Young - Since the uprising against the political class in October 2019, Hizbullah has made numerous errors that have only led more Lebanese to oppose its standing in the country. Two weeks ago, Hizbullah members clashed with armed members of a Sunni tribe in Beirut. Days later, when a truck loaded with rockets drove through the Druze village of Shouwayya, villagers stopped it, roughed up the Hizbullah members, and confiscated the truck. They were furious that Hizbullah was firing from near their village, and that Israel might retaliate against them. Maronite Patriarch Bishara al-Rai, in his weekly sermon, affirmed that the Lebanese state alone should have the right to declare war, implicitly criticizing Hizbullah's rocket attack against the Israelis. Hizbullah is now seen as the prime protector of a corrupt political class. It has only exacerbated the dire economic situation by smuggling subsidized fuel to Syria. Many Lebanese also believe Hizbullah brought in the ammonium nitrate that exploded in Beirut port on August 4, 2020. An increasing number of Lebanese are realizing that the concept of a Lebanese state cannot coexist with a powerful armed militia serving an outside power. The writer is a senior editor at the Carnegie Center.