Hezbollah stands at a crossroads – its next steps will determine Lebanon’s fate | Bilal Saab

Like Netanyahu, the militant group has chosen to ignore basic truths, and prioritised its own aims over the nation it claims to defend

How can Lebanon tackle its tangled, dysfunctional relationship with Hezbollah without returning to domestic sectarian conflict? Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, who has been accused by the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court of war crimes in Gaza, claims to have the answer: the Lebanese must free" Lebanon from Hezbollah. You have an opportunity to save Lebanon," he said in a video address, before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza."

Netanyahu, who dismisses the accusations of the ICC, is openly threatening to inflict the same devastating military tactics used in Gaza upon the Lebanese population. If he really wanted to help the Lebanese deal with Hezbollah, he wouldn't order his military to invade southern Lebanon and as a result breathe new life into the organisation. Netanyahu knows his history, yet he chooses to ignore it: Hezbollah was born in part to resist Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon, which began in 1982 and ended only in 2000. Give it that excuse again, and it will find a way to regroup by recruiting among a Shia community who won't accept another Israeli occupation.

Bilal Y Saab, an associate fellow with Chatham House, is the head of the US-Middle East practice of Trends Research & Advisory

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.