Hezbollah in 2020: Successive calamities paid for by the Lebanese

Eslam Mohamed

The year 2020 was full of crises that accompanied the domination of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia over Lebanese decision-making. Despite its presence in power and its ability to influence the government’s direction, the general decline in the Iranian regime, to which the militia is affiliated, cast a shadow over it.

The year began while the sit-in squares were rife with demonstrators of all sects who disbelieve in the Hezbollah project and its insistence on charging their country the bill for Iranian adventures in the region against their will, and as a result, the government was overthrown due to the domination of Hezbollah and its allies over it.

On January 22, then Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab announced the formation of a government of “specialists”, but in reality it was not the case. Rather, it was the government of the Iranian militia. He kept the ministries of health and industry, while his ally, Speaker of Parliament and head of the Amal Movement Nabih Berri, obtained the portfolios of finance, agriculture and culture.

But the international community refused to deal with the new government, at a time when Lebanon was in its most urgent days for international assistance to get out of a stifling economic crisis that was the most severe in its history. The continued control of Hezbollah over the government led to the continuation of the boycott on the people, regionally and internationally, thus deepening the Lebanese crisis. Hezbollah’s assumption of the Ministry of Health also had disastrous consequences for the Lebanese people, especially in light of the global corona pandemic, as international organizations refused to deal with it, which forced Beirut to turn to NGOs to provide health and financial aid during the corona crisis.

Then the Beirut Port explosion came on August 4, dealing a new blow to the hegemony of Hezbollah, which failed to stop the tide of popular anger. This paved the way for external intervention represented by French President Emmanuel Macron, who proposed an initiative to form a neutral government that would implement economic and political reforms requested by the international community to help Lebanon, which did not happen.

Hezbollah, which welcomed the French initiative, returned and turned against it by imposing conditions on the president-designate that do not comply with the initiative’s criteria, and it hardened its position by insisting that the Ministry of Finance and the Speaker of Parliament go to people close to the militia, in addition to its demand to name four ministries without the participation of anyone, which prompted then-Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib to apologize for forming the government on September 26.

Hezbollah continued to obstruct any solution that did not satisfy it at the level of government formation, as despite the agreement between most of the political forces to name Saad Hariri as its head and the initial agreement with him, the militia did not name him until October 22, when the formation of the government was approved. The government was led by Hariri, but Hezbollah is still playing a negative role by standing by its ally, Gebran Bassil, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement who is subject to US sanctions.

Basil plays a fundamental role in obstructing the formation of the Hariri government, especially after the imposition of sanctions on him for reasons related to corruption and his alliance with Hezbollah, by requesting the access to the obstructing third in the government, namely giving him the right to choose seven ministers, which hinders its formation to this day.