Lebanese flags above the damage in the village of Houla, south Lebanon, in February 2025. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L'OLJ)
What if U.S. President Donald Trump were to turn history on its head?The marginalization of south Lebanon has long been at the heart of the Shiite community’s grievances — one that Hezbollah, and before it, Amal, have drawn upon to gain popularity. It positioned the group not only as the voice of their community’s hardships but also — through a powerful clientelist network — as its sole alternative to the state.It is from this premise that the American envoy, Tom Barrack, recently proposed the creation of a ‘Trump Economic Zone,’ intended to lift the South out of precariousness and to motivate Hezbollah and its base to move forward on the path of disarmament. Some fear that this proposal, in reality, conceals plans to establish a buffer zone, emptied of its inhabitants, along the border with Israel. Looking back Lebanon not been...
What if U.S. President Donald Trump were to turn history on its head?The marginalization of south Lebanon has long been at the heart of the Shiite community’s grievances — one that Hezbollah, and before it, Amal, have drawn upon to gain popularity. It positioned the group not only as the voice of their community’s hardships but also — through a powerful clientelist network — as its sole alternative to the state.It is from this premise that the American envoy, Tom Barrack, recently proposed the creation of a ‘Trump Economic Zone,’ intended to lift the South out of precariousness and to motivate Hezbollah and its base to move forward on the path of disarmament. Some fear that this proposal, in reality, conceals plans to establish a buffer zone, emptied of its inhabitants, along the border with Israel. Looking back Lebanon...
