{"id":863600,"date":"2026-06-13T02:55:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T02:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/863600\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T02:55:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T02:55:24","slug":"hezbollahs-campaign-against-the-lebanese-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/863600\/","title":{"rendered":"Hezbollah&#8217;s Campaign against the Lebanese Government"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/word-image-1781248007777.png\" alt=\"Ihab Hamadeh (Hezbollah parliamentary bloc website, June 10, 2026)\"\/>Ihab Hamadeh (Hezbollah parliamentary bloc website, June 10, 2026)<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/word-image-1781248008953.png\" alt=\"Graffiti accusing Aoun and Salam of treason and collaboration with Israel (Lebanon Debate, April 20, 2026).\"\/>Graffiti accusing Aoun and Salam of treason and collaboration with Israel (Lebanon Debate, April 20, 2026).<strong>Overview[1]<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>The tension between the Lebanese government and Hezbollah has intensified in recent months because of the organization\u2019s decision to violate the ceasefire and renew the hostilities against Israel, and because of the current direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under American auspices.<\/li>\n<li>Despite Hezbollah\u2019s protests and firm public opposition to the government\u2019s decisions to outlaw the organization\u2019s military wing and its commitment to continuing the talks with Israel, President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam remain determined to pursue the policy.<\/li>\n<li>As a result, senior Hezbollah figures and organization-affiliated media outlets have increasingly sought to undermine the legitimacy of the president and prime minister\u2019s actions. They claim the government\u2019s actions sabotage Lebanon\u2019s interests, betray the idea of \u201cthe resistance,\u201d[2] and call the two \u201cagents serving the American-Zionist project.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>In Amit Institute assessment, the growing number of voices within Hezbollah challenging the legitimacy of the government in Beirut reflect the organization\u2019s weakness within Lebanon\u2019s political system and its inability to influence government decisions and prevent moves it perceives as contrary to its interests, as it had done for decades. That lays the groundwork for actions that go beyond political discourse, and could materialize as \u201cpopular\u201d efforts to topple or paralyze the government or as the targeted use of force against key leadership figures to deter a change in the government\u2019s policy opposing Hezbollah\u2019s activities.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Tension between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Government<\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>Hezbollah renewed the hostilities against Israel on March 2, 2026, to support Iran in in its war with the United States and Israel, ending the ceasefire in Lebanon which had been in effect since November 27, 2024. The renewal of the hostilities led the Lebanese government to escalate its measures against Hezbollah, including outlawing the organization\u2019s military wing, declaring that all members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would be expelled from Lebanon and, subsequently, the removal of Iran\u2019s designated ambassador from Beirut.[3]  That was in addition to the government\u2019s August 2025 decision to disarm Hezbollah as part of implementing the state\u2019s monopoly on weapons throughout the country.[4]<\/li>\n<li>Another factor that contributed to the escalation of tensions between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government was Lebanese President Joseph Aoun\u2019s decision to approve the opening of direct negotiations with Israel under American mediation. Several rounds of direct talks, including military-level discussions, were held in Washington between the two countries\u2019 delegations, with the objective of advancing a ceasefire and subsequently holding talks on a security agreement and the demarcation of the Israel-Lebanon land border. At the most recent meetings, held on June 2 and 3, 2026, an agreement was reached to implement the ceasefire and establish \u201cpilot zones\u201d in south Lebanon from which IDF forces would withdraw and be replaced by Lebanese army soldiers to ensure they were free of Hezbollah and other armed terrorist operatives.[5]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hezbollah\u2019s Failure to Stop the Government<\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>The measures taken by the Lebanese government, particularly its willingness to conduct direct negotiations with Israel while attacks against Hezbollah targets continued, led to resentment among the organization\u2019s leaders and supporters, who accused it of \u201csurrender\u201d and \u201cconcessions to American and Israeli dictates.\u201d Posters distributed by the organization\u2019s supporters depicted President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam wearing skull caps and IDF uniforms with Israeli flags, while the two were accused of \u201cbetraying the resistance.\u201d That also led to concerns that Hezbollah might assassinate senior Lebanese officials.[6]<\/li>\n<li>Nevertheless, Aoun and Salam continued to defend the direct negotiations as the only way to stop Israel\u2019s \u201caggression\u201d against Lebanon, while rejecting Hezbollah\u2019s criticism and Iranian attempts to link developments in Lebanon to the negotiations Tehran was conducting with the United States regarding an end to its own war:\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>Aoun represented the negotiations as the only way to achieve security and stability, and strengthen the state\u2019s presence in the south, and noted the broad international and regional support for the move (Lebanese presidency X account, April 29, 2026). He issued a statement marking the 26th anniversary of the IDF withdrawal from south Lebanon, in which he said Lebanon would not accept the current situation and the state was working to achieve a full Israeli withdrawal through negotiations \u201cwhich will be neither concession nor surrender\u201d (Lebanese presidency X account, May 25, 2026).<\/li>\n<li>Aoun explained that in light of thousands of deaths and more than one million displaced persons, he had to act according to the dictates of his conscience and do his duty to the state and the people rather than remain idle, and therefore the only alternative was to hold direct negotiations. He added that strength did not mean going to war, it meant the courage and wisdom to end a war through negotiations for the benefit of the state (Lebanese presidency X account, June 2, 2026).<\/li>\n<li>Interviewed by CNN, Aoun said that Hezbollah secretary general Na\u2019im Qassem did not represent the Lebanese people, adding that dealing with Hezbollah fell to the Lebanese government. Regarding Iran, Aoun accused it of using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with the United States and claimed Tehran \u201cis not trying to help us\u201d because Lebanese citizens are paying the price for the pursuit of Iranian interests (CNN, June 5, 2026).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-582275\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/word-image-1781248007122.png\" alt=\"Aoun in the interview (Lebanese presidency X account, June 9, 2026)\" width=\"200\" height=\"296\"  \/><br \/><strong>Aoun in the interview (Lebanese presidency X account, June 9, 2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said direct negotiations were the fastest and least costly option for Lebanon, the Lebanese and the south of the country. He said they were not the only available option, but they were the best alternative, compared to continuing the war, pursuing cases in international courts for years or appealing to the UN Security Council, which would result in a political veto (Lebanese Prime Minister\u2019s X account, June 4, 2026).<\/li>\n<li>Salam said Hezbollah\u2019s activities were illegal because the Lebanese leadership had the exclusive right to conduct negotiations on behalf of the Lebanese state and to make political and security decisions. Regarding Iran, Salam said Iran had never supported Lebanon and the best service it could provide would be to stop involving Lebanon in wars, because the Lebanese were now paying the price for a \u201cwar between Iran and Israel on Lebanese soil\u201d (Al Arabiya, June 11, 2026).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>According to reports, President Aoun\u2019s seeking to prevent Hezbollah from dictating government decisions has led to a debate within Hezbollah\u2019s leadership regarding the value of the organization\u2019s continued participation in the government, given that while it effectively legitimizes its policies, it also creates tension between the organization\u2019s commitment to the idea of \u201cthe resistance\u201d and its political role within the government (Lebanon 24, May 25, 2026).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hezbollah Sharpens Its Rhetoric<\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>Hezbollah\u2019s failure to dissuade the Lebanese government from advancing the negotiations with Israel deeply frustrated the organization\u2019s leadership. Alongside firm opposition to the continuation of the direct talks and clarification that the organization would not accept any understandings reached in the negotiations, Hezbollah escalated its threats against President Aoun and the government, accusing them of failing to defend Lebanon and betraying the people:\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>In a speech marking 26 years since the IDF withdrawal from south Lebanon, Hezbollah secretary general Na\u2019im Qassem called on the government to stop the negotiations, which he claimed Lebanon derived no benefits. He said the government should resign if it was incapable of defending Lebanon\u2019s sovereignty against Israeli attacks, claiming the Lebanese had the right to take to the streets and overthrow the government. He implicitly threatened the government and reminded its leaders that \u201cwe warned you not to become a tool of the United States and Israel.\u201d He added that \u201cthe existence of the resistance is under threat and we will defend ourselves until we achieve one of two goals: victory or martyrdom\u201d (al-Manar, May 25, 2026).<\/li>\n<li>Sheikh Muhammad Yazbek, head of Hezbollah\u2019s Sharia Council, again said Hezbollah did not care what was taking place in the direct negotiations in Washington, calling it \u201csurrender.\u201d He reiterated the organization\u2019s demands for a complete ceasefire and an end to all attacks, a full withdrawal from Lebanese territory, the return of displaced persons to their homes, reconstruction of the villages and the release of prisoners, as well as discussions regarding implementation of a \u201cnational defense strategy.\u201d He said they would not relinquish their demands, even if it \u201cmeant confrontation and achieving one of the two glorious outcomes, victory or martyrdom\u201d (al-Diyar, May 31, 2026).<\/li>\n<li>Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, a member of the Hezbollah faction in the Lebanese Parliament, attacked the silence of the Lebanese leadership in response to remarks by American Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the American administration was working with the Lebanese government to establish Lebanese army units capable of confronting and disarming Hezbollah. Al-Hajj Hassan called on the Lebanese government to reject the idea outright, claiming the Lebanese government had put itself in a predicament by agreeing to conduct negotiations with Israel under United States sponsorship (al-Manar, May 29, 2026). Subsequently, al-Hajj Hassan referred to a statement by American Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who said Hezbollah was an enemy of both Israel and Lebanon. Al-Hajj Hussein criticized the Lebanese government for not responding to the remarks and asked if the Lebanese leadership, through its silence, agreed (Lebanon Debate, June 7, 2026). His objective had been to embarrass the government and reinforce the narrative that it served American-Israeli interests and betrayed the idea of \u201cthe resistance\u201d represented by Hezbollah.<\/li>\n<li>Ihab Hamadeh, a member of the Hezbollah faction in the Lebanese Parliament, sharply criticized President Aoun, accusing him of being a traitor who did not represent the people. In a speech in Tamnine al-Fawqa in the Beqa\u2019a Valley, referring to Aoun he said, \u201cYou do not represent the Lebanese, this Lebanese people is not your people. Your Excellency, are you a Lebanese president?\u201d while claiming that Aoun was elected only through the imposition of the \u201cZionist-American project.\u201d He added that \u201cwe knew with complete certainty that you were a traitor and would betray us,\u201d and they had assumed from the outset that he would renege on any understanding reached with him because \u201cit would be a continuation and completion of the Israeli war against us.\u201d Referring to Aoun\u2019s statement that Qassem did not represent the Lebanese, Hamadeh said Hezbollah\u2019s parliamentary faction (Loyalty to the Resistance) had been one of the largest in the Lebanese Parliament since 1992 and that it, together with the Amal Movement, represented the Shi\u2019ites, and therefore Aoun\u2019s ignored the entire Shi\u2019ite community in Lebanon (Hezbollah parliamentary bloc website, June 10, 2026).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-582283\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/word-image-1781248007777.png\" alt=\"Ihab Hamadeh (Hezbollah parliamentary bloc website, June 10, 2026)\" width=\"332\" height=\"188\"  \/><br \/><strong>Ihab Hamadeh (Hezbollah parliamentary bloc website, June 10, 2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>The same escalated rhetoric appeared in statements by unofficial figures close to Hezbollah. The most prominent among them was Ibrahim al-Amin, editor of the Hezbollah-affiliated daily al-Akhbar, who published a series of articles in recent weeks challenging the legitimacy of the president and prime minister to advance what he called \u201cpolicies hostile to Hezbollah.\u201d In one article, he asked, \u201cCan the Lebanese sleep peacefully with such figures at the helm?!\u201d while attacking positions which he said submitted to Israeli demands and demonstrated indifference to the destruction in south Lebanon. In addition, echoing Na\u2019im Qassem\u2019s remarks regarding the people\u2019s right to take to the streets and call for the overthrow of the government, al-Amin said leaders who denied the right of \u201cresistance\u201d had a duty \u201cto resign when the people take to the streets and demand their replacement\u201d (al-Akhbar, June 5, 2026).<\/li>\n<li>In another article, al-Amin challenged the legitimacy of Lebanon\u2019s political leadership, claiming Aoun\u2019s appointment had been imposed on Lebanon through American-Saudi pressure and contrary to the position of a significant portion of the country\u2019s political parties. He described President Aoun as \u201can illogical disease\u201d with which Lebanon had to contend, and Prime Minister Salam as \u201can incapable activist\u201d who deeply resented the \u201cresistance\u201d and lacked commitment to Lebanon (al-Akhbar, June 8, 2026).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-582291\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/word-image-1781248008432.jpeg\" alt=\"A picture issued by a Hezbollah supporter in response to a Lebanese presidency post, with the Hebrew names &quot;Yoav Shalom&quot; for Salam and &quot;Ze'ev Gideon&quot; for Aoun (comment by Dalal Mansour on the Lebanese presidency X account, June 9, 2026)\" width=\"169\" height=\"206\"  \/>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-582299\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/word-image-1781248008953.png\" alt=\"Graffiti accusing Aoun and Salam of treason and collaboration with Israel (Lebanon Debate, April 20, 2026). \" width=\"300\" height=\"206\"  \/><br \/><strong>Right: Graffiti accusing Aoun and Salam of treason and collaboration with Israel (Lebanon Debate, April 20, 2026). Left: A picture issued by a Hezbollah supporter in response to a Lebanese presidency post, with the Hebrew names \u201cYoav Shalom\u201d for Salam and \u201cZe\u2019ev Gideon\u201d for Aoun (comment by Dalal Mansour on the Lebanese presidency X account, June 9, 2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\">\n<li>The Shi\u2019ite Mufti Ahmad Qabalan, known for his close ties to Hezbollah but not considered an official spokesman, recently criticized the country\u2019s leadership and challenged its legitimacy. He said the understandings reached by the negotiations between Lebanon and Israel would turn the Lebanese government into a kind of South Lebanon Army, whose sole role would be to build a security infrastructure serving \u201cthe interests of the Israeli security establishment\u2026while the Lebanese government becomes an agent in the service of Israel.\u201d He warned that the Lebanese authorities and the presidential palace were bringing Lebanon \u201cto the brink of civil war\u201d through the agreement (al-Manar, June 4, 2026). He published an open letter in which he claimed \u201cwe will not allow Lebanon to be abandoned into the hands of Israel and its agents\u201d and \u201cLebanon\u2019s sovereignty must be restored from those who have turned Lebanon into political property and a security instrument in the hands of the United States and Israel.\u201d He added that \u201cthere is no greater betrayal than the betrayal of the government of \u2018shame,\u2019 which has placed Lebanon\u2019s head on the table of Zionist Washington\u201d (al-Akhbar, June 8, 2026).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">[1] Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.terrorism-info.org.il\/en\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.terrorism-info.org.il\/en<\/a> to subscribe and receive the ITIC&#8217;s daily updates as well as its other publications.<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n[2] Violence and terrorism to destroy the State of Israel.<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n[3] See the April 2026 Amit Institute report, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.terrorism-info.org.il\/en\/renewal-of-hostilities-and-negotiations-with-israel-increase-tension-between-hezbollah-and-the-lebanese-government\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Renewal of Hostilities and Negotiations with Israel Increase Tension between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Government<\/strong><\/a><br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n[4] See the January 2026 Amit Institute report, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.terrorism-info.org.il\/en\/the-completion-of-the-first-phase-of-hezbollahs-disarmament\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>The Completion of the First Phase of Hezbollah\u2019s Disarmament<\/strong><\/a><br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n[5] See the weekly Amit Institute reports, &#8220;Spotlight on Terrorist: Hezbollah and Lebanon.&#8221;<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n[6] See the April 2026 Amit Institute report, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.terrorism-info.org.il\/en\/renewal-of-hostilities-and-negotiations-with-israel-increase-tension-between-hezbollah-and-the-lebanese-government\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Renewal of Hostilities and Negotiations with Israel Increase Tension between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Government<\/strong><\/a> and the May 2026 report, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.terrorism-info.org.il\/en\/hezbollahs-unit-121\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Hezbollah\u2019s Unit 121<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>            Related Articles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ihab Hamadeh (Hezbollah parliamentary bloc website, June 10, 2026)Graffiti accusing Aoun and Salam of treason and collaboration with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":863601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[352080,83108,51259,352082,4783,83,99,13192,197394,50,352083,100956,352081],"class_list":["post-863600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-amit-institute","tag-aoun","tag-beirut","tag-hamadeh","tag-hezbollah","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-lebanon","tag-nawaf-salam","tag-news","tag-qabalan","tag-qassem","tag-united-sstates"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116740551641760578","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}