While Hezbollah publicly claims it has rebuilt itself and is prepared for any scenario, its officials are well aware that their party is going through one of the most critical periods since its inception in 1982. For Hezbollah, all the options laid out in front of it are bad, and now, its leaders are simply trying to determine which one is the least damaging. At this point, the question for Hezbollah is no longer whether it will retaliate for the assassination of its chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabataba’i, but whether it will continue to exist — and in what form. What troubles its officials is not so much the identity and position of the commander assassinated on Sunday in Beirut’s southern suburbs, but rather Israel’s ongoing manhunt, in which all of them are potential victims.Tabataba’i is certainly not among Hezbollah’s newer figures....
While Hezbollah publicly claims it has rebuilt itself and is prepared for any scenario, its officials are well aware that their party is going through one of the most critical periods since its inception in 1982. For Hezbollah, all the options laid out in front of it are bad, and now, its leaders are simply trying to determine which one is the least damaging. At this point, the question for Hezbollah is no longer whether it will retaliate for the assassination of its chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabataba’i, but whether it will continue to exist — and in what form. What troubles its officials is not so much the identity and position of the commander assassinated on Sunday in Beirut’s southern suburbs, but rather Israel’s ongoing manhunt, in which all of them are potential victims.Tabataba’i is certainly not among Hezbollah’s...
