Activists in southern Lebanon have opened the first political confrontation with Hezbollah, issuing two appeals in the names of Tyre and Nabatieh that call for the cities to be declared “free of weapons” and placed “under the authority and protection of the Lebanese state.” Their aim is to protect the cities from Israeli bombardment and prevent them, along with nearby villages, from being emptied of residents. As Israel’s war on Lebanon continues, leaving widespread destruction and unprecedented human and material losses in the south, voices from within the southern community itself are beginning to call for an end to the war and to the transformation of the region into an open arena for regional conflicts. The move goes beyond humanitarian appeals and reaches into the heart of the debate over the south’s future and the role of weapons there. Tyre appeal A number of residents of Tyre and nearby areas issued an appeal calling for “saving their city from the ongoing destruction caused by Israeli aggression, which has claimed dozens of its people and seeks to empty it of its residents and remove it from history and geography through the systematic targeting of civilians and infrastructure.” The signatories said their moral responsibility “requires raising their voices loudly and without equivocation.” They said their goal was “to reach a final end to the war and fully liberate Lebanese land, away from axis politics and other people’s wars, so that the south does not remain a card in regional negotiations that have nothing to do with the Lebanese.” They also stressed “the need to impose the sovereignty of the Lebanese state over all its territory.” They called for “putting an end to the destruction of Tyre, working to consolidate a comprehensive ceasefire across all Lebanese territory, and for the Lebanese government to launch an urgent Arab and international diplomatic and political initiative to protect the historic city from ongoing Israeli attacks.” They also urged “strengthening the deployment of the Lebanese army and official security forces inside the city and around it, and consolidating the presence of state institutions there in a way that preserves security and stability and protects residents.” The appeal went further, calling for Tyre to be declared an “open city” free of weapons, allowing its people to return, protecting displaced people and arrivals, ensuring access to humanitarian and medical aid, and keeping basic services running. Nabatieh appeal Hours later, residents of Nabatieh picked up the initiative and issued a similar appeal signed by about 220 figures, including activists, and social, cultural, academic and economic figures. They called on the Lebanese government to “launch an urgent diplomatic and political move to protect Nabatieh and its district from destruction and ongoing Israeli attacks.” They also called for “strengthening the deployment of the Lebanese army and security forces at the entrances to the city and around it, and consolidating the presence of state institutions in a way that protects civilians and reassures residents and the displaced.” The people of Nabatieh stressed the need to “declare the city and its surroundings a safe and open area under the care of the Lebanese state and its legitimate authority, free of everything that could expose its residents to danger, allowing people to return to their homes and sparing the city further destruction.” They appealed to the state “to take the necessary measures to protect Beaufort Castle and all other historical and heritage landmarks in the area, and to work to impose a ceasefire in Nabatieh and the south, as was the case in other areas that witnessed relative calm.” Shift in public mood The two appeals drew wide political and media attention as possible signs of a shift in public mood inside southern Lebanon. Academic and political researcher Dr. Harith Suleiman said the appeals by residents of Tyre and Nabatieh “reflect a decline in popular confidence in Hezbollah’s military role, and point to a growing conviction among a segment of southerners that the military option has failed to protect southern areas or prevent Israeli incursions.” Suleiman told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hezbollah “has long promoted the idea that it had the advantage in any ground confrontation with Israel, but recent developments on the ground showed a clear imbalance in the balance of power in Israel’s favor, as well as a decline in the party’s ability to inflict losses that would make any ground incursion costly.” He said the appeals “are, in essence, a political message showing that a segment of the people of the south now sees the Lebanese state alone as the refuge capable of providing protection and stability.” At their core, the demands carry a political position, pointing to a conviction among southerners that the state alone is their refuge. Suleiman said the appeals “mark a popular collapse of the military role that the party has played over the past years, and reflect a growing tendency among Lebanese to entrust their fate to the state and its diplomatic choices after the bet on military solutions has receded.” He said southerners “hold the party responsible for the choices that led to human losses and urban destruction in the region.” “What is happening in the south, in terms of human and urban catastrophe, is a translation of Iranian choices that do not care about the fate of Shiites. Unfortunately, the tragedy befalling the people of the south and the Lebanese adds nothing to Iran under a balance of power that does not tilt in its favor,” he said. Humanitarian catastrophe The signatories of the Tyre appeal, however, said the demand to declare the city free of weapons does not stem from a political background as much as from a desire to protect residents and prevent the city from being used as a pretext for Israeli targeting. One signatory told Asharq Al-Awsat that Tyre “has been living through something resembling a humanitarian catastrophe since the outbreak of the latest war, after it turned into a main center for receiving displaced people from surrounding villages and towns.” He said large numbers of displaced people in recent months had arrived in the city. They were housed in old neighborhoods, schools and public facilities, placing huge humanitarian and service burdens on residents. He said the main goal of calling for the city to be free of weapons “is to protect it through legitimate state institutions and prevent it from being used as a justification for Israeli airstrikes, for which civilians pay the heaviest price.” “More than half of Tyre has been destroyed, while preserving the city, its residents and its historical and national role has become a priority above all other considerations,” he said.
