|
Trending Topics
|
Source: https://jcfa.org/the-wall-is-cracking-is-lebanons-shiite-community-turning-on-hizbullah/
Unprecedented Criticism of Hizbullah in Lebanon's Shiite Community
(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah - Growing criticism of Hizbullah is being heard within Lebanon's Shiite community. Social media accounts, community activists, and ordinary displaced civilians in southern Lebanon and Dahieh have voiced frustration over the fallout of the confrontation with Israel. Questions like "Where is Iran?" or "What was all this destruction for?" reflect deep anger over the heavy toll paid by the Shiite population. Following the loss of key military installations such as the underground complex at Ali al-Taher and the decapitation of Hizbullah's leadership by Israel, Hizbullah has struggled to maintain its traditional framing of "victory through steadfastness." With its leadership disrupted, supply lines suppressed, and Iranian financial flows constrained, Hizbullah's capacity to compensate families for lost homes and livelihoods has been significantly compromised. However, political analysts and polling data caution against assuming that Hizbullah's grip on the Lebanese Shiite community is collapsing. The Shiite community's support for Hizbullah has long been tied to its fear that without a strong-armed protector, the community would be marginalized or targeted by rival Lebanese sects. Even among Shiites critical of Hizbullah's strategic choices or ties to Iran, a vast majority remains opposed to the outright disarmament of the group. The current environment reflects Hizbullah's loss of aura and narrative control, but whether it becomes a permanent political realignment depends on whether an organized Shiite alternative emerges and whether the Lebanese state can offer real security and economic alternatives to a displaced population. The writer, a special analyst for the Middle East at the Jerusalem Center, was formerly Deputy Head for Assessment of Israeli Military Intelligence.