The Hizbullah terrorist group celebrated victory over the Lebanese government as the weak US-backed coalition bowed to the Iran and Syria-backed group’s demands.
Nonetheless, Hizbullah men continued to clash with US-backed Lebanese government-supporters even after the Lebanese government authorized its army to backtrack on the state’s attempted assertion of sovereignty following a near-coup.
Clashes in Lebanon began three days earlier when the army was instructed to close down the Iran and Syria-backed group’s alternative communications network and depose the Hizbullah-affiliated head of security at Beirut’s airport. The decision was made by pro-independence factions of the ruling government coalition seeking to stem the influence of Syria and Iran in Lebanon.
Hizbullah blocked off access to the airport with bulldozers and Hizbullah Chief Hassan Nasrallah got on Hizbullah-run TV and instructed his followers: “We have said before that we will cut the hand that targets the weapons of the resistance. Today is the day to fulfill this promise.”
At least 20 people were killed in the ensuing street battles as Hizbullah seized entire neighborhoods and towns, battling Sunni Muslims and Druze, which are both loyal to the government. Government officials’ homes and offices were also surrounded as government-affiliated TV stations were burned. The Lebanese army stood down in fear of an all-out civil war.
A withdrawal from Beirut was agreed upon after the Lebanese Army gave in to the group’s demand to keep a Hizbullah loyalist in charge of the airport and continue to operate its own communications network. “As for the telecommunications network, the army will look into the issue in a manner that is not harmful to the public interest or the security of the resistance [against Israel],” an official statement from the army read.
Though Hizbullah officials promised Saturday that they would withdraw armed men from Beirut, they said they will continue a civil rebellion until the government gives in to the rest of their demands, which include the right to veto any decision made by the government. The announcement came after victory parades of armed men in pickup trucks firing their guns in the air made their way through Beirut.
Despite handing its positions over to the government in Beirut following its victory, Hizbullah terrorists continued to clash with Lebanese government loyalists in Tripoli Saturday night.
How Israel Fits In
Several elements in Lebanon attempted to call upon the various factions to unite around their enmity for the Jewish state – to no avail.
"We had thought that Israel is the source of the imminent threat to our country… but the present experience shows that our homes and democratic system are gripped by brethren who believe in armed violence,” said Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. "We and the Lebanese People do not accept that Hizbullah and its weapons remain in the present status. None of us is neutral. The nation will not retain its normalcy until Hizbullah is convinced that only the Lebanese people can guarantee its security through the state.”
Meanwhile, anti-Israel columnist Robert Fisk wrote in the British Independent newspaper that the key issue surrounding the Beirut airport security debate was the placement of Hizbullah security cameras that he claims were meant to thwart a planned Israeli operation. He claims the operation was planned for April 28, using sea-born forces, which were to land at the Beirut Airport’s runway, now covered by Hizbullah’s surveillance cameras.
“From there the invading force would use local transportation to speed through the airport to attack Hizbullah positions on the other side of the facility with lightning force before withdrawing,” he wrote. “The plan was aborted after it mysteriously became known to Hizbullah. It is possible that a double agent was involved or that an Israeli agent had been captured in time.”
The attempts to shut down Hizbullah’s communications network and change the command structure of the Airport’s security were viewed by Hizbullah as hard evidence of complicity with Israel by elements of the Siniora Cabinet, he concludes.