and undermine the standing national unanimity, the situation in Lebanon explodes and coexistence between the various sects becomes at stake.

The modern history of this country is replete with examples. When Beirut hesitated once it was asked to sever its relations with France and Britain during the tripartite aggression against Egypt, tension prevailed between the Muslims and Christians in Lebanon. The dispute turned into a bloody civil strife only a year after the then Lebanese President Camille Chamoun hinted he would likely join Eisenhower's coalition.

Tension recurred with the beginning of the 1970s when Palestinian militants began to flow gradually into the country across the borders, with the help of Syria, amid Muslim support and Christian fears. Consequently, the situation slid into a civil war whose backwash is still being strongly felt in the country.

The same thing was repeated in the aftermath of the 1982 invasion when a team of Christians forged an alliance with Israel against the will of their co-patriots, causing the civil war and the accompanying sufferings of the Lebanese to extend for additional years.

A few months ago, Hezbollah unilaterally dragged all of Lebanon into a war with Israel in response to regional accounts that exceed the limits and capabilities of the small country. The move generated a popular tension that still exists. It was immediately followed by another confrontation, also designed for regional objectives, with the majority-led government, which it seeks to topple.

Hezbollah and the Syria-linked opponents reached a dead end, which, if it happens to be opened, will only lead to disaster. It turned out that the blunder of taking to the street, which was warned against, is not only unable to achieve its intended objectives, regardless of its soundness or what it hides, but it has also opened the door to sectarian tension that portends an all-out explosion. The nightly skirmishes between the alerted Hezbollah's supporters and the residents of the areas they pass through with their slogans, flags and provocations are mere samples of the outcome of the 'showdown'.

The main fault lies in the fact that such tension was an inevitable sequel to the street protests, because Lebanon is not Ukraine, and the fragile and delicate balance, which governs its sects and groups, needs sustained efforts to strengthen it, not to break it up under a regional attack aimed at changing the equations in the region and creating an alliance that Lebanon would not be able to escape its destructive fallout.

Hezbollah was supposed to realize that only the Shiite sect would be held responsible for the movement it is leading, because the participation of the rest of the communities would be folkloric, regardless of their size and justification.

The party organizes, supervises and directs these protests, and it is the only party that has an army of professional full-time fighters, a great arsenal of weapons and a huge budget. It sets the time and the goals, even if it is done by proxy.

The current sit-in in the squares of downtown Beirut is definitely one of the regional blunders that were experienced before by other communities and led to nothing but civil confrontation. But the bravado this time is fueled by a tense regional reality, where the ugly picture of division is evident in the ongoing fighting between the Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq.

Picture: Hezbollah supporters protest in downtown Beirut

By : Hassan Haydar
Source: Al-Hayat