Those who bet on the end of Hezbollah are betting on a mirage. When I met one of Hezbollah’s officials in Tehran in 2004, I understood from my interlocutor from the Amal Movement — the one who introduced me to the Hezbollah official — the following: Hezbollah will remain a Lebanese resistance arm against the Zionist occupation, as part of Lebanon’s territory is still under Israeli control.
Hezbollah’s doctrine is built on the principle of eternal hostility toward Zionism, and under no circumstances will they retreat from resisting the Zionists. The Zionists have long worked to integrate themselves into their Arab and Islamic surroundings with the aim of weakening us, not because our moments of weakness constitute any strength for them.
War is a cycle of advance and retreat between Hezbollah and the Zionists: a day for you, and a day against you. And although Hezbollah’s political weight inside Lebanon stirs much debate, those who represent the country’s centers of gravity understand well the party’s role in protecting Lebanon and consider it one of the essential components of Lebanese identity. Lebanon’s army commanders also understand and acknowledge the necessity of Hezbollah’s military wing.
Today, and I say this from an informed standpoint: even if President Joseph Aoun stated that Hezbollah’s fighters are exhausted after forty years of confrontation with the Zionists, exhaustion in Hezbollah’s lexicon does not mean surrender, retreat, or weakness. War is fought in rounds, and they know that maintaining the armed initiative remains one of the most crucial tools for confronting the Zionists. As for the daily attacks they face from the Israeli enemy, contrary to what one might expect, they only increase their determination and resolve to fight by every means available.
