Israeli flags flutter on the coastal road to Naqoura, Lebanon, Sept. 11, 2026. (Credit: Raghed Waked/Reuters)
Since the withdrawal of the Assad regime in 2005, the Lebanese political system has been searching for a formula to manage internal conflicts for which the Taif Agreement provided no genuine arbitration mechanism. Hezbollah gradually filled the void left by Damascus, imposing its own balance of power internally, but the expansionist turn taken by Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, has upended this dynamic.At the heart of this crisis lies the security system established by Hezbollah to govern the rules of engagement with Israel in southern Lebanon. This system has collapsed, and it is impossible to restore it. The end of this security order could have opened a phase of reconstructing Lebanese autonomy. Our editorial Is Israel or Hezbollah your problem? Yet, as one foreign power recedes, another acquires an increasing capacity to influence...
Since the withdrawal of the Assad regime in 2005, the Lebanese political system has been searching for a formula to manage internal conflicts for which the Taif Agreement provided no genuine arbitration mechanism. Hezbollah gradually filled the void left by Damascus, imposing its own balance of power internally, but the expansionist turn taken by Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, has upended this dynamic.At the heart of this crisis lies the security system established by Hezbollah to govern the rules of engagement with Israel in southern Lebanon. This system has collapsed, and it is impossible to restore it. The end of this security order could have opened a phase of reconstructing Lebanese autonomy. Our editorial Is Israel or Hezbollah your problem? Yet, as one foreign power recedes, another acquires an increasing capacity to influence...
