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"Nobody Is Afraid of Hizbullah Anymore"

(JNS) Josh Hasten - Israel's devastating campaign against Hizbullah has significantly weakened the terrorist group not only militarily, but politically and financially as well, according to Israeli experts. Israel eliminated as many as 4,000 Hizbullah operatives, including senior leaders, before a ceasefire went into effect on Nov. 27, 2024. While Hizbullah and its Shi'ite allies from the Amal Movement still retain five senior ministerial positions in the Lebanese government, Lt.-Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi, founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center, noted that Hizbullah no longer has veto power over the Lebanese political system. This, plus the fact that Hizbullah is much weaker than it used to be militarily, with most of its leadership gone, represents a "golden opportunity" to really bring change to Lebanon, she said. Dr. Jaques Neriah, senior fellow for Middle East affairs at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, was raised in Lebanon and served for 24 years in Israel's intelligence community. He noted that Hizbullah's independent banking system has collapsed. "This bank had two million clients, its own ATM machines and thirty offices," most of which were destroyed by Israel, "which put Hizbullah in dire straits." This caused Hizbullah to attempt to fly cash into Lebanon from Iran. "However, Israel warned...that it would bomb...Beirut airport, so this practice stopped. Therefore, Hizbullah is in deep financial crisis." At present, Hizbullah is split into two factions. One branch acknowledges the group's defeat by Israel and is willing to turn their weapons over and integrate into Lebanon as a political party per UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Neriah said. The other group believes Hizbullah's sole legitimacy lies in fighting Israel, and that if they stop doing so, they have no right to exist. "Hizbullah has never been this weak," said Dr. Edy Cohen, a research fellow at the Israel Center for Grand Strategy, who also grew up in Lebanon. He said Hizbullah has essentially been reduced to a social welfare organization, using whatever funding it has left to assist its supporters impacted by the war. Nevertheless, Cohen believes that the Lebanese army will never fight Hizbullah. Cohen noted that "Lebanon's citizens are now openly speaking against the organization and against Nasrallah and against Naim Qassem," Nasrallah's replacement. "The Lebanese wouldn't dare do so when Nasrallah was alive. Nobody is afraid of Hizbullah anymore."
2025-04-10 00:00:00
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