What Are the Major Clashes in Lebanon About

4 August the massive bombing in Beirut led to the killing of dozens, the wounding of thousands, the displacement of thousands of others, and the destruction of more than half of the city. This disaster was the most prominent event that overturned the Lebanese street, which has suffered from many crises internally and externally.

Before the explosion, Lebanon was suffering on the internal political level from the vacant presidency crisis, which failed in many sessions in the House of Representatives to choose a president to lead the country and the ministries' failure to manage the country's affairs, which led to several repeated resignations of the prime minister, while the Corona pandemic made matters worse.

Lebanon Politics

On the internal level, Lebanon is divided into many currents and parties that are always at odds and are heading to temporary alliances, and this has led to internal conflicts and foreign interference in internal Lebanese politics, most notably Iranian and Syrian interventions through Hezbollah

And Western interventions through the Future Movement, which is what It always leads the Lebanese to a dark tunnel due to contradictory ideas and interests

On the external level, Lebanon has always adopted a policy of non-interference, and that Lebanon is not part of the regional crises and distancing itself from the international arena during crises, a matter that many Lebanese politicians contradicted and that Lebanon is part of the region.

Lebanese international relations Lebanon has close relations with all the Arab countries that have always stood by Lebanon, while the relationship with Syria worsens due to the entry of the Syrian army into Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war and the assassination of comrade Hariri, who accused Syria of the assassination.

Western relations with Lebanon are distinctive, especially with France, which continues to provide support and assistance to Lebanon in all levels. President Macron was the first to arrive in Lebanon after the resounding bombing in the capital Beirut.

The Crisis of Forming a Government in Lebanon

The Lebanese have always found themselves facing the problem of forming a government because of the sectarian formation system that the Lebanese constitution follows after the country's civil war in the 1980s. The Corona pandemic struck Lebanon at a time when Saad Hariri had left his post and left for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and entrusted Hassan Diab to form the government.

Diab got enough votes to form the new government in the circumstances and problems that Hariri left, but despite this, the Sunni blocs, led by the Hariri bloc, did not vote in favor of Diab, and thus Diab had opponents and obstacles in the House of Representatives.

Lockdown, Difficult living situation, high unemployment, refugee crisis, Covid-19 pandemic, were all lining up in the Lebanese arena until the Beirut port bombing, which led to the resignation of the government, the return of the country to the vacant government crisis and the return of Hariri, who became looking for alliances.

These crises led to mass demonstrations in various parts of the country and armed clashes in some Lebanese cities with a Shiite majority supported by Hezbollah, which led to Lebanon entering a dark tunnel again and a difficult economic circumstance that Lebanon faces for the first time since the civil war.

Hezbollah and External and Internal Interventions

Hezbollah, which was formed with the help of Iran to be the arm of the resistance against Israel in Lebanon, as described by Iran. This party was formed during the period of the Lebanese civil war.

and the Israeli takeover of some areas and the South Lebanon Army with the help of Israel, while the Syrian army was in other areas, and with its support and approval, Revolutionary Guard fighters entered Lebanon and trained the Shiites loyal to them.

The party has a political bloc in the Lebanese Parliament represented by the Loyalty to Resistance Bloc, whose mission is to run and enact laws that are in the interest of Hezbollah, while the military arm is the Council of Resistance and its mission is intimidation and to replace the state in the areas controlled by the party.

It also performs some external tasks, including intervention in the Syrian crisis and Iraqi lands, especially during the period of the existence of the Islamic State

All these irregularities at home and the endeavors to exclude the Lebanese state, foreign interference and permitting interference inside Lebanon all led to the anger of the street at the actions of Hezbollah and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

And these crises that Hezbollah exports and brings to the Lebanese interior increased the existing crises in the country and also led to the cessation of international support, most notably the American support because of Hezbollah’s great control on the ground in Lebanon blatant interference by Hezbollah.

Beirut Port Explosion

An explosion shook the capital and destroyed part of it and turned it into a disaster-stricken city awaiting international aid because the scale of the destruction could not be sustained by the Lebanese state on its own, and according to the World Bank, the losses amounted to $ 8 billion, and at a time of economic deficit, Lebanon will not be able to bear the cost.

After the shock, the arrival of aid from all over the world, the visits of senior officials from around the world to Lebanon, and demands to clarify the cause of the explosion and the arrest of those responsible, the Lebanese street has woken up from the shock, but the investigators and the judiciary are still out of service and they have not reached anything useful.

Hospitals filled with Corona patients and victims of the explosion, an economy collapsed, a city in distress, no facts, the Lebanese street was burning in anger while officials exchanged accusations of fabricating obstacles to forming the government and the reasons for the situation Lebanon is going through.

From the economic collapse to Corona and the explosion that shook the country all were enough to show the Lebanese the extent of the fragility of their government and the collapse that the state is going through, and that those responsible for corruption commit their crimes and flee because of the lack of control and the fortification of their sect.

The protesters went to the streets to express their anger towards the general and economic situation, especially in the country, so that the protesters succeeded in placing the symbols of the state in a dilemma that led many of them to become monks from the country.

But the sectarian division that dates back decades was very difficult to change, and the demonstrations also lacked organization and leadership It would negotiate with the corrupt government, all of which led to the failure of the fledgling revolution.

 

Written by - Abduljalil Hage

Edited by – Adrija Saha