Spectre of civil war looms large over Lebanon after Hizbullah warning
raised the spectre of civil war on Friday with a warning there would be 'no life' in
Lebanon
if the government sought to confront or eliminate the
Iran
-backed group.
The government wants to control arms in line with a US-backed plan following
Israel
's military campaign against Hizbullah, which was founded 40 years ago with the backing of Tehran's Revolutionary Guards.
But the group is resisting pressure to disarm, saying that cannot happen until Israel ends its strikes and occupation of a southern strip of Lebanon that had been a Hizbullah stronghold.
'This is our nation together. We live in dignity together, and we build its sovereignty together – or Lebanon will have no life if you stand on the other side and try to confront us and eliminate us,' said its leader, Naim Qassem, in a televised speech.
READ MORE
Israel has dealt Hizbullah heavy blows in the last two years, killing many of its senior members, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah and 5,000 of its fighters, and destroying much of its arsenal.
Lebanon prime minister Nawaf Salam said that Mr Qassem's statements carried an implicit threat of civil war, calling them 'unacceptable'.
'No party in Lebanon is authorised to bear arms outside the framework of the Lebanese state,' said Mr Salam in a post on X carrying his statements from an interview with the pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
The Lebanese cabinet last week tasked the army with confining weapons only to state security forces, a move that has outraged Hizbullah.
Mr Qassem accused the government of implementing an 'American-Israeli order to eliminate the resistance, even if that leads to civil war and internal strife'.
However, he said Hizbullah and the Amal movement, its Shia Muslim ally, had decided to delay any street protests while there was still scope for talks.
'There is still room for discussion, for adjustments, and for a political resolution before the situation escalates to a confrontation no one wants,' he added.
'But if it is imposed on us, we are ready, and we have no other choice ... At that point, there will be a protest in the street, all across Lebanon, that will reach the American embassy.'
The conflict between Hizbullah and Israel, which left parts of Lebanon in ruins, erupted in October 2023 when the group opened fire on Israeli positions along the southern border in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza hostilities.
Hizbullah and Amal still retain influence politically, appointing Shia ministers to cabinet and holding the Shia seats in parliament. But for the first time in years, they do not hold a 'blocking third' of cabinet, enabling them to veto government decisions in the past.
The Islamist group retains strong support among the Shia community in Lebanon, but calls for its disarmament across the rest of society have grown. – Reuters
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Israel has succeeded in normalising genocide: bombing hospitals, starving and executing people queuing for food no longer provoke outrage. Last week, Israel killed the last remaining members of Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau. That silence that now prevails is no coincidence. Israel has deliberately targeted journalists, killing more than 270 media workers since it launched its war on Gaza. The longer Israel's genocide continues, the clearer it becomes: our humanity lives and dies with Palestine. This is a call on all media outlets and workers to continue the work and legacy of journalists killed by Israel since it launched its war on Gaza. We cannot forget them. We cannot stop talking about Palestine. – Yours, etc, CIARA BOTTOMLEY, Schull, Co Cork. Connolly and the presidency Sir, – Your headline on August 16th tells us that Catherine Connolly has said we 'cannot trust' the United States, England and France. 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Chairman Mao stated cynically that 'political power grows out of the barrel of a gun'; in some ways this is unfortunately true so we must always ensure that we are properly defended and that there is a democratic finger on the trigger. – Yours, etc, TONY FEENEY, Dublin. Steady on, Mr SUV Sir, – While much of Seán Mooney's letter can be taken as very much tongue in cheek, it's important to reflect on the 'advanced driver aids and safety features' he references. These features sadly don't extend to pedestrians and cyclists. Global research shows that the higher front profiles, greater mass and height and larger blind spots all contribute to significantly higher pedestrian deaths and fatalities, even at lower speeds. – Yours, etc. STEPHEN McGOVERN, Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Sir, – I write in response to Seán Mooney's letter, 'Me and my lovely SUV', in which he declares his unconditional love for his vehicle. A key benefit of public transport, absent in private transport, is the way it brings us into contact with people from across society. Sharing space with strangers offers glimpses into lives and struggles we might otherwise ignore. That social perspective is too often lost when we retreat behind the dashboard. That 'faint smell of urine and sweat' are that of another human being and the toils of life. It's empathy. – Yours, etc, VINCENT WALL, St Luke's, Cork. Data centres and policy Sir, – Una Mullally is right to say that Ireland's electricity policy 'rewiring' should be a matter of public debate (Opinion, August 18th ). That debate is long overdue. Data centres now consume 22 per cent of our electricity; more than five times the European average of 4 per cent. Ireland is vastly oversubscribed to these energy-hungry facilities, yet Government policy continues to enable further expansion. The introduction of private wires may ease pressure on the grid, but it must not become an excuse to build more data centres. Since 2017, every unit of renewable energy added to the Irish system has been swallowed by data centre demand. As a result, our national reliance on fossil fuels has remained stubbornly unchanged. But wasn't the whole point of renewables to reduce that reliance? Instead, the benefits of wind and solar have been diverted to private industry, while households and small businesses continue to shoulder the costs and risks. We are told that offshore wind projects, potentially up to 3,300 turbines, will meet demand. But at what cost? Our coastlines risk becoming industrial zones, and renewable generation remains unreliable and volatile. Interconnectors and battery storage offer only limited support, as recent European blackouts linked to over-reliance on solar demonstrated. Ultimately, every renewable system requires fossil fuel back-up. 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Gracious about Oasis Sir, – On November 1st, 1884, when Michael Cusack and seven others came together in the billiards room of Hayes Hotel, Thurles, to create a 'Gaelic association for the cultivation and preservation of national pastimes', I would like to think that they would have been thrilled to know that over 140 years later two brothers from Manchester (both former Gaelic footballers) whose parents emigrated from Mayo and Meath would turn up on two fine summer evenings (in a world-class stadium named after GAA inaugural patron Archbishop Croke) to engage in one of the great traditional Gaelic pastimes: story telling in song: ie sean-nós – in this instance, electrified and with an audience-cum-choir of over 80,000. Spellbinding. History in the making. Up there with the greatest All-Irelands. – Your s, etc, CHRIS FITZPATRICK, Terenure, Dublin 6. Discerning taste Sir, – I have just collected my paper version of The Irish Times from my local shop. However, for some unconscious reason, I notice that I always avoid the top copy of the pile and select my copy from two or three copies underneath. I have noticed others doing the same. I wonder if it is because I suspect some unscrupulous people lift the top copy for a free read and then replace it. Thus, the top copy can be second-hand, or it may have been soiled in the process of delivery to the shop. Have other readers had the same experience? – Yours, etc, TONY CORCORAN, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14. Army nurses and policy Sir, – Your story about the absurd decision to allow the Army Nursing Service to be reduced to one member refers to this being the result of a 'policy decision' ('Just one staff member left in Defence Forces unit,' August 18th). This phrase is now routinely used throughout government and administrative structures to allow an abdication of responsibility. Can we know who made that policy decision? The Government? A Minister? The Department of Defence? Another Government department? The Defence Forces? Accountability from our public services, in my view, has all but collapsed. Phrases such as 'this is policy' are too often used to cover lousy decisions. – Yours, etc, DERMOT LACEY, Dublin 4. C'est la vie Sir, – Maurice Manning's excellent advice in today's paper (Letters, August 18th) echoes the French nobility's guiding principle 'vie cachée, vie tranquille'. Well worth mulling over by those measuring themselves for the Áras. – Yours, etc, DECLAN DEASY, Castlebellingham, Co Louth. Those hardy perennials Sir, – The Letters page is the first thing I read every day and I take great pleasure in seeing my occasional rant in print. However, this summer has seen the old hardy perennials dragged out a bit. Along with the school holidays debate, the old 'is this a record' lark is starting to grate a bit. On Saturday, the relevance of the Angelus reared its head again with one contributor even managing to have a minute of quiet reflection to the sound of Angelus bells. The 'lovely girls' competition in Tralee this week will surely generate some more such correspondence. If only a few hats were thrown into the presidential election ring, we could liven things up a bit. – Yours, etc JOHN KELLY, Bennekerry, Carlow. In defence of the Angelus Sir, – A neighbour of mine loves the Angelus because it allows him to watch the news headlines on BBC1 and switch over in time for the 6.01 news on RTÉ 1. –Yours, etc GEMMA McCROHAN, Dublin 16. Sir, – Regarding the Angelus debate, perhaps RTÉ Radio could ensure that it is actually hit on time at midday, without the chat between presenters in the interim? The minute of solace should take into account the announcing of a production team, and what we will hear on the next programme. It is only two minutes a day on RTÉ. Surely that's not a great ask? – Yours, etc, DAITHÍ MacAODHA, Dublin. Is this a record? Sir, – We wrote two letters to The Irish Times on separate subjects and on separate dates. The first was published on Friday, August 15th, and the second on Monday August 18th. Is this a record for a husband and wife team? – Yours, etc (in chronological order), LINDSAY ARMSTRONG, GILLIAN SMITH, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, Sir. – I spotted an open ham sandwich on a menu in a restaurant in Co Clare last week, priced at ¤22.50. Is this a record? – Yours, etc, MAIRÉAD CASHMAN, Salthill. Co Galway.
