People who claim to want a ceasefire in Gaza are silent about a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. There are no rallies in the West, and few if any op-eds. The "peace" crowd doesn;'t seem to care much about peace in Lebanon and Israel.
This is despite the fact that a full war would be far more devastating to both sides than the five months of the Gaza war has been.
It is almost as if they really don't care about peace.
But there are people who do: the citizens of Lebanon, who most emphatically do not want to be sucked into a war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Hezbollah is sensitive to public opinion and pretends that it is "defending Lebanon." If the people reject that argument and demand that it stops putting the entire country in danger, that is how Hezbollah can de-escalate and still maintain its "honor" which is what is driving its attacks on Israel.
The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center has compiled a list of statements by prominent Lebanese politicians as well as social media activists opposing Hezbollah's actions since October 7:
Gebran Bassil, the chairman of the Free National Movement in Lebanon, said his party opposed Lebanon’s being responsible for the “liberation of Palestine” because that was the Palestinians’ responsibility. ...He also stated that his party opposed the use of Lebanon as a base from which to attack Israel, and that by itself Lebanon was unable to pay the price of obtaining the Palestinians’ rights on behalf of all Arabs.Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces Party, said Hezbollah’s highest national interest concerned Iran, not Lebanon (Lebanese Forces X account, January 26, 2024). The Lebanese Forces Party said in an official statement that ...Hezbollah’s real goal in fighting was not to destroy Israel, but to fully control Lebanon (Lebanese Forces Party Facebook page, February 22, 2024).On February 20, 2024, The Phalanges, a party headed by Samy Gemayel, published a statement accusing Hezbollah of giving Israel reasons to attack in south Lebanon. Moreover, Hezbollah’s theory, that attacks from Lebanon would divert Israel from its activities in the Gaza Strip, had borne no fruit and harmed Lebanon.Lebanese civilians living in the towns and villages near the border were quoted as criticizing Hezbollah for attacking Israel from within their communities. They claimed attacks near their homes put them in danger, pushing them to abandon their homes and leave the area free for Hezbollah. Some of the residents claimed that some of the rockets that hit the villages in south Lebanon were actually launched by Hezbollah.
One social media personality juxtaposed photos of Gaza today with Lebanon in 2006, sarcastically saying "both Hamas and Hezbollah claimed victory."
But this criticism has not made it into the mainstream media. And that is how Hezbollah wants it.
Only a public demonstration in Beirut or preferably in the south, a demonstration that cannot be ignored, will move Hezbollah to act, in the name of doing what the Lebanese demand.
Hezbollah doesn't fear Israel. Like all Islamist groups, it doesn't care about how much damage a war would do to Lebanon as long as they can kill Jews and claim victory. But it does fear the Lebanese people who can expose its hypocrisy in claiming to defend them.
The people do not want a war. They need to realize, after decades of Hezbollah effectively ruling them, that they have the power to stop a war.
And the international media that also claims to want to avoid war must step up with publicizing the Lebanese people's desires to stop Hezbollah from its military escalations.
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