The whirlpool of the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinians has raised many questions about “resistance” axis’s role represented by Hezbollah militias, which is close to Iran in Lebanon. The party has chosen to distance itself from the escalation in the Gaza Strip and given merely a moral support, and its missiles remained far from “Haifa and Tel Aviv.”
Since the start of the escalation in Gaza, southern Lebanon has witnessed two incidents of missiles fire launched towards Israel. The last launches were yesterday, Wednesday, when the Israeli air defenses intercepted one missile, while another landed in an open area and two at sea.
On Monday, the Israeli army announced that six shells were fired from Lebanon towards Israel but fell inside the Lebanese borders. The Israeli army confirmed that “the artillery answered back by firing at the shells’ source in Lebanon.”
Going to war is an Israeli decision
In addition, no party has claimed responsibility for the two incidents, and there has been no official comment about Hezbollah. Sources close to the party have denied any responsibility for the missiles though. At the same time, the Israeli army has revealed that the one responsible for the missile attacks that had been launched from Lebanon on northern Israel was a small Palestinian faction, not the Lebanese Hezbollah.
As a result, the Lebanese Hezbollah has held the Palestinian leaderships of parties and factions fully responsible for any reckless incident that could lead to a confrontation with Israel at a time Hezbollah does not approve. The Lebanese newspaper Aljomhouria has
stated that the Palestinian leaders in Lebanon sent a circular to all the existing factions in southern Lebanon, especially in the camps. The circular stipulates that Hezbollah has informed Palestinian leaders of the necessity that all Palestinian groups refrain from taking any action against Israel from southern Lebanon.
A political source had confirmed to the media earlier that “the situation will remain under control since there is no interest for Hezbollah to expand the confrontation to be including the south, in which there are waves of solidarity, with participation of a number of left-wing parties and groups, with the Palestinians near the borders between Lebanon and Israel. These waves are for expressing the outburst of anger that have been sweeping across a number of Lebanese regions in support for the Gaza Strip.”
The source had also pointed out that “the Lebanese authorities will not allow the atmosphere to be escalated, and the southern front against Israel to be triggered.”
The Lebanese army has found a Grad missile in the Naqoura Plain in the south of the country that failed to be launched with the other four missiles that were fired yesterday at Israeli territory. The Lebanese army has also confirmed that “the army’s engineering teams worked to dismantle the missile.”
As a political source has confirmed to the Lebanese media, “the missiles fires remained within the limits of expressing the overwhelming wave of anger. The missiles were no further than sending a message of solidarity with the Gaza Strip, but without opening the door for a confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah.”
Supporters of the party believe that the party is not ready to go to any new round of war and is contented until the moment to announce its absolute support for the Palestinian movement without thinking of being adventurous.”
“There are no current indications of any escalation,” Sheikh Sadiq al-Nabulsi, university professor close to Hezbollah, says.
“the decision and waging war traditionally relates to Israel and not to Hezbollah or other resistance factions,” al-Nabulsi explains. While Observers confirm that the Hezbollah’s war decision is taken in Tehran.
The Israeli army has announced that it had spotted people trying to sabotage the barbed wire fence on Israeli borders from the Lebanese side recently, warning that any attempt to undermine Israel’s territorial sovereignty “will be faced strictly.”
Palestinian responsibility..
Lebanese media has confirmed that “Hezbollah’s perspective is clear, and it will not allow any reckless incident that could lead to a confrontation with Israel at a time that the party does not approve.” The media has suggested out that Hezbollah, in an undeclared and hidden way, contributes to controlling popular movements at the Lebanese borders.”
On Friday, the young Muhammad Tahan (21 years), belonging to Hezbollah, was killed by Israeli fire in the south of the country. His death was after a group of demonstrators crossed the barbed fence in front of the Israeli settlement of Mutla. The party has merely mourned Tahan in a statement. However, no statements have been issued threatening to respond, although the party always declares it will always respond to the killing of any of its members by Israeli fire and to any attack on Lebanon.
“The first responsibility is on the Palestinian people, they must stand and continue, we will not be more monarchical than the king,” Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, said during the celebration of Al-Quds Day on the seventh of this month.
“We will not tolerate anything at all any mistake, any transgression, and any aggressive movement by the Israeli enemy against Lebanon,” Nasrallah warned.
Moreover, Nasrallah announced last December that the number of precision missiles he possesses has doubled than it was a year ago. Despite this, there are no indications of a coming escalation.
“The Lebanese resistance is on the defensive and does not initiate an attack on Israel,” Muhammad Al-Khawaja, Deputy of the Amal Movement; the Shiite force allied with Hezbollah, affirms.
“At the moment, there is no Lebanese endeavor to open a front with Israel, but the response will be decisive in the event we are attacked,” Al-Khawaja assures.
Hezbollah’s position on the war on Gaza is consistent with the position of its supporter, Iran, which has also chosen to be satisfied with raising the morale of the Palestinians. It is a unified position that political analysts assert that it was coordinated in advance between the axis of resistance and Iran.
In addition, the position of the Palestinian factions in Lebanon does not differ from that of Hezbollah. “There is a Palestinian decision not to escalate and use the South Lebanon front to respond to Israel, and we are keen on the security and stability of Lebanon,” Major General Subhi Abu Arab, the Secretary of the Fatah Movement in Lebanon, says.
The Palestinian leader has considered that “the missiles that were launched in recent days are spontaneous, their source is unknown, and it is an individual act to express the anger of our youth at what is happening in the Gaza Strip.” He has explained that “the decision to open the South Lebanon Front is up to the Lebanese state and Hezbollah, and the latter is aware of any move that takes place in the south.”
It is noteworthy that Israel has launched, for the tenth day in a row, intensive raids on the Gaza Strip. In addition to destroying the infrastructure of the Strip, the raids have killed more than 200 Palestinians so far, including women and children, in a military operation called the “guardian of the walls.”
Meanwhile, armed Palestinian factions in Gaza Strip fire rockets at Israeli cities and towns; which has caused the death of more than 10 people and wounding dozens.
