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Hezbollah, Israel and the damage done

Lebanon is a country that has undergone more than its share of suffering and drastic change in the twentieth century. From independence in 1943, the withdrawal of French troops in 1948, civil disturbance in 1958, through to the tragedy of almost continual war from 1975 until 1990, Lebanon has known suffering and tragedy that we in the privileged West simply cannot begin to comprehend.

Lebanon is a state founded upon division. In 1943, it was agreed that the position of President would be always held by a Maronite Christian, and the position of Prime Minister held by a Sunni Muslim. In 1990, this arrangement was formalized in the Taif agreement, which also made provision for the Speaker of the House to always be a Shi’ite Muslim. While in theory this sort of formalized power sharing arrangement may seem to be a reasoned, practical approach, in practice this division of powers has come to symbolize the deep divisions that exist within the country.

The fighting in the south of Lebanon is nothing new. The 1975-1990 civil war grew out of Christian-Muslim tensions, the influx of Palestinian refugees that had begun in 1948 with the establishment of the Israeli state, and interference by Syria, Iran and the Palestinians, who were led for the most part by Yasser Arafat as a quasi State-within-a-State. Though the 1990 Taif agreement marked the formal cessation of hostilities, Israel did not withdraw its last troops from the south until 2000; Having done so, Syria filled the void with it’s troops that had been stationed in the North until 2005, when they withdrew after international and internal pressure – the so-called ‘Cedar Revolution.’

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