At the expense of Lebanon, interests expose Turkey’s relationship with Hezbollah

Shaima Hefzy

Between Syria and Beirut, clashes escalate between Turkey and the Lebanese Hezbollah, due to the interference of both parties in the two countries, but this does not prevent hidden relations that require the two parties to either overlook their mistakes, or conclude an agreement against a third party.

Turkey seeks to extend its intellectual influence over the Sunnis of Lebanon, to achieve its regional goals by restoring the Ottoman dream, in a confrontation within the dispersal, in front of the Lebanese Hezbollah, which caused the entry of a dark tunnel of debt and economic decline.

Hezbollah also seeks to support the Shiite groups in Syria, with a larger umbrella than Iran, at a time when Turkey is carrying out attacks on the Kurds in Syria to counter what they call them terrorists.

In public, Turkey and Lebanon are grappling, which was shown in a statement by Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who said, “The Ottoman state practiced state terrorism against the Lebanese, and a group of Lebanese demonstrated in front of the Turkish embassy in Beirut.”

Aoun had said in an official speech that all attempts to break free from the Ottoman yoke were met with violence, killing and fueling sectarian strife. The state terrorism practiced by the Ottomans on the Lebanese, especially during the First World War, claimed hundreds of thousands of victims between starvation, recruitment, and forced labor.

In response to the embassy incident, the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Lebanese ambassador to Ankara, Ghassan Muallem, and conveyed to him, “Ankara’s annoyance with the provocative act.”

The dispute escalated, and even Turkey issued a statement through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying that “Aoun made a statement on the occasion of the centenary of the founding of Lebanon, which included malicious references related to the Ottoman era and accusations of the Ottoman Empire practicing state terrorism in Lebanon which we condemn in the strongest terms and reject it in its entirety.”

While Iranian centers called on Turkey to act rationally, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah ignored the matter, and did not attack Turkey as it does with Sunni states in every media appearance.

Overlooked by Hezbollah, interpreted by analysts as a prophylaxis of evil and a wedge between Turkey and Hezbollah, Turkey became the last Sunni country in the region that still has a relationship with the party at a time when its relationship with the Gulf states (Sunni) and the Arab League deteriorated.

Likewise, Hezbollah cannot enter into a direct battle with Turkey, but instead of fighting it organizes meetings of its leaders with Turkish intelligence officials in order to agree to reduce tension in Idlib.

In addition, Hezbollah is moving in the shadow of Iran and Russia, and at a time when the bigger powers find ways to consult, Hezbollah will not risk Turkey’s hostility as long as it can wait for the leaders to resolve the matter.