On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message directly to the people of Lebanon. Part of it said:This is a message to the people of Lebanon: pic.twitter.com/btMQR0Xwtn
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 8, 2024
Now you, the Lebanese people, you stand at a significant crossroads. It is your choice.You can now take back your country. You can return it to a path of peace and prosperity.If you don’t, Hezbollah will continue to try to fight Israel from densely populated areas at your expense.It doesn't care if Lebanon is dragged into a wider war. Christians, Druze, Muslims—Sunnis and Shiites—all of you are suffering because of Hezbollah's futile war against Israel.Today I ask every mother and every father in Lebanon a simple question: Is it worth it? Because, it doesn't have to be that way. I know you want a better future for your children.So I am speaking to all of you today.There is a better way. A better way for your children, for your cities, for your villages, for your country.You deserve to restore Lebanon to its days of tranquility; you deserve a Lebanon that is different. One Country – One Flag – One People.Don't let these terrorists destroy your future any more than they've already done. Stand up and take your country back. You have an opportunity that hasn't existed in decades. An opportunity to take care of the future of your children and grandchildren.You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza. It doesn't have to be that way.Each of you can take a step for your future.Even a small step.You can make a difference.I say to you, the people of Lebanon:Free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end.Free your country from Hezbollah so that your country can prosper again, so that future generations of Lebanese and Israeli children will know neither war nor bloodshed, but will finally live together in peace.
Many Lebanese interpreted this as a call for a civil war in Lebanon!
“Netanyahu is calling on the Lebanese to kill each other, in a message clearly addressed to Hezbollah’s opponents,” said Ziad Majed, a political specialist at the American University of Paris. Indeed, he seems intent on inciting the anti-Hezbollah camp to take advantage of the latter’s degraded capabilities, following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and the destruction of a large part of its military infrastructure, to finish it off domestically. Otherwise, Israel will do it, even if at the cost of destroying the whole country and killing many civilians.
I'm seeing the same interpretation all over social media.
It is absurd.
.jpeg)
Hezbollah claims to be defending Lebanon. As long as the Lebanese people remain silent, they can continue to use that lie for their own anti-Israel purposes. But if the Lebanese people tell the world that they would be better off without Hezbollah's pretense of defense, then Hezbollah has no leg to stand on.
The Egyptian anti-Muslim Brotherhood government protests of 2013 were largely peaceful. Why can't similar mass protests be mounted in Lebanon? Why can't there be protests insisting that Hezbollah and Lebanon adhere to UN Security Council resolution 1701?
If some Lebanese think that protests would lead to a civil war, that means they think that Hezbollah would counter peaceful protests with violence from their illegal militia. If they think that would happen, isn't that even more reason to try to get rid of Hezbollah's separate army, separate health system, and separate areas of control where the Lebanese army are not allowed to enter?
No one wants a civil war. The Lebanese people have the power to marginalize Hezbollah and eliminate Iran's control over them without anyone being hurt.
|
Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. Read all about it here! |
|
