Seth J. Frantzman
Jerusalem Post, June 17, 2024
“… it is acceptable for Hezbollah to launch 4,000 rockets at Israel in eight months and force the evacuation of thousands from their homes, but not to go to war over it.”
An article published by the BBC on Saturday can shed some light on the town of Alma al-Shaab – sometimes spelled “Aalma El Chaeb” – located across the border from the Israeli community of Hanita, which has been a frequent target of Hezbollah attacks.
Alma al-Shaab is a Christian village and shares a similar name with Ayta ash-Shaab, a different town located 17 km. to the east, which is a frequent target of IDF strikes due to Hezbollah’s presence. The article is titled “Why 800 people fled a sun-kissed Mediterranean village,” and is written by Ali Abbas Ahmadi. “Why, why us?” asks Milad Eid, a resident of the village. “An hour earlier, he was dousing a fire at a house that had been hit by an Israeli missile. While he was there, a bomb struck another one,” reads the article.
It sketches out a story of a town whose residents had to flee due to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Since October 8, Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets, missiles, and drones at Israel in support of Hamas after the attacks on October 7. This has plunged the poor people of the border villages of Lebanon into a war zone.
These are people who have no say in the fact Hezbollah uses their lands to hide weapons. Hezbollah has a massive arsenal of 150,000 rockets, it has missiles and drones and effectively functions as an army – an army large enough and similar enough to that of other established states.
However, it is also a terrorist group. The international community has long tolerated Hezbollah’s illegal role in hijacking Lebanon, the same way it tolerated Hamas taking over Gaza. One conclusion could be that the international community recognizes some sort of benefit to having these groups growing in power on Israel’s borders. Instead of focusing on trying to curtail them, some see them as helpful proxies.
Yet these groups have brought destruction to Gaza and Lebanon. IDF Spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari warned on Sunday. … [To read the full article, click here]
