We have become accustomed to treating Lebanon as a sovereign state that controls all its territory and regions, as if every action carried out from its territory is its sole responsibility. This is what Israel has made clear on various occasions through the defense minister, the IDF Spokesperson, and the heads of the defense establishment both before and after October 7, referring to Hezbollah's attacks.
This worldview cannot continue. Israel must declare: Lebanon no longer has sovereignty over territories controlled by Hezbollah, and therefore Israel may act there in any way to protect Israeli citizens.
Hezbollah operates in Lebanon as a state within a state. Apart from parliamentarians and ministers affiliated with the organization who serve its needs, Hezbollah has almost complete autonomy in the areas it is located in – southern Lebanon from Sidon to the south and along the Israeli border, northeastern Lebanon bordering Syria, and the Dahiya area in south Beirut. Hezbollah controls ports and border crossings, and also manages a military and civilian organization in areas under its control that controls local order.
The areas controlled by Hezbollah are known to Israel and Lebanon, according to Lebanese-British journalist Oz Qatari, who grew up near the Dahiya district. He wrote that the group had fully controlled the area since 2008 through "gun-bearing thugs who used to threaten, intimidate and suppress dissent," and that Lebanese authorities were no longer allowed to enter areas controlled by Hezbollah.
Last Friday, Lebanon filed a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel for violating its sovereignty after the killing of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in the Dahiya area. Israel's answer should be: Lebanon may not demand respect for sovereignty in areas not under its control. Moreover, Lebanon has the responsibility to ensure that these areas return to its control, and to do everything for its security and to prevent the disturbance of the existing order vis-à-vis Israel.
The current situation is not foreign to Israel or Lebanon. Already in the 70s, Lebanon abandoned its citizens to the full control of the Fatah terrorist organization, which was based in southern Lebanon. While Lebanon itself gave up and withdrew from these territories, Fatah carried out countless terrorist attacks against Israel, and even massacred local civilians who opposed it. I know this situation intimately, being a local person. My father, who was in the SLA, fought shoulder to shoulder alongside the IDF. History repeats itself today, in the form of the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
Last Friday, Lebanon filed a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel for violating its sovereignty after the killing of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in the Dahiya area. Israel's answer should be: Lebanon may not demand respect for sovereignty in areas not under its control
The responsibility for the current situation lies with Lebanon, which allowed the organization to continue to establish itself in its territory, but Hezbollah knew how to exploit Lebanon's weaknesses to its advantage – the ongoing political crisis, the social crisis, and the economic crisis, which has worsened since 2019.
Just as then Israel knew how to form an international coalition and fight against Fatah, today Israel must tell Lebanon: Either you join the struggle against Hezbollah – or you are no longer allowed to complain about territories that you no longer own.
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