Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Hamam on Aug. 9, 2024. (Credit: Rabih Daher/AFP)
The Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, is no stranger to provoking the Lebanese. On Thursday, he posted on the X platform, "the people of Lebanon say no to the war imposed on them by Hezbollah and refuse to be a tool for foreign interests at the expense of their security and future."
"Peace for Lebanon first and foremost... In 2006, Hezbollah committed an unforgivable sin for which it paid a heavy price, acknowledging its actions and regretting the costly adventure. Will it venture again in 2024 to regret it?" asked Adraee.
To support his claims, the Israeli spokesperson published a montage of successive videos showing Lebanese Forces spokesperson Charles Jabbour and LF MP Ghada Ayoub criticizing Hezbollah's arsenal and its unilateral war policy. He also posted videos of Lebanese internet users criticizing the Shiite party's decision to wage war against Israel.
Charles Jabbour denounces
"Hezbollah has dragged Lebanon and the Lebanese into a series of costly wars. The Shiite party should hand over its weapons to the Lebanese state, which will manage the borders (with Israel)." In the video chosen by the Israeli military, Ayoub accuses Hezbollah of "violating the Constitution," imposing its war decision on the Lebanese while silencing dissenting voices.
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Jabbour criticized "Israeli propaganda that only serves Hezbollah’s interests. When Israel highlights someone who criticizes Hezbollah, that person ends up being accused of betrayal. So Israel is either doing this deliberately to help Hezbollah or out of sheer stupidity," he said.
"All I demand as a Lebanese is a sovereign state governed by the rule of law and an army with a monopoly on weapons. My focus is on Lebanon, not on other countries. It is only within this frame that I criticize Hezbollah, which prevents the emergence of a state in Lebanon, and I don’t need Israel to talk about my country," insists Jabbour.
Since the assassination of Fouad Shukur, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah's armed branch, in southern Beirut, tensions between Hezbollah and Israel have never been higher. As the risk of a full-scale war grows with a potential response from the pro-Iranian party, Israel is intensifying its "friendly" messages to the Lebanese people, including through videos like these.