Who will save Lebanon from the belly of the beast?

Security flaws exposed

The Palestinian community in Lebanon confronts an even more dire plight than Lebanese citizens. The outbreak of hostilities between the Fatah movement and Islamic factions within the camp has exposed serious flaws in security arrangements. 

Residents are perplexed at how weapons and ammunition can find their way into the camp when essentials such as construction materials to build houses face difficulties getting in.

One day in the spring of 2006, Lebanese politicians came to an agreement to confine all Palestinian weaponry in the country to Palestinian refugee camps under the condition that the Palestinian Authority allow Lebanese Internal Security Forces into the camps to conduct patrols and arrest wanted individuals. 

Unfortunately, this agreement, along with several others reached on that day, has unravelled. 

This unravelling started when, that very summer, the secretary general of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah decided to start a war with Israel — a war that Lebanon has never fully recovered from.

Since the end of the Lebanese civil war, Palestinian camps have been used as launching pads for conflicts in Lebanon.

The Nahr al-Bared conflict, for example, is one etched into national memory that has left lasting scars on Lebanese and Palestinians alike.  It started when Shakir al-Abssi came from Syria to Lebanon and carried out terrorist operations there.

When the Lebanese army sought to combat the terrorist group Fatah al-Islam, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made his famous statement: "The army's entry into Nahr al-Bared is a red line." However, the Lebanese army did not yield to Nasrallah's threat at that time.

Ain al-Hilweh, however, is another beast altogether. Due to its dense population, the army is hesitant to enter the camp due to the risk of inflicting a high number of civilian casualties.

On his part, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani stressed the need to "immediately cease the ongoing hostilities within the Ain al-Hilweh camp," emphasising the need for all parties to adhere to a ceasefire.

This coincided with accusations against Iran's key ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah, of orchestrating the developments unfolding within the camp.

Open guilt, closed justice

In Lebanon, the truth can shine as vividly as the sun, yet justice remains hidden behind the clouds.

Everyone knows who the murderers are — from the tragic assassinations of Kamal Jumblatt, René Moawad, and Rafik Hariri— however, justice remains elusive. 

The leaked recording involving former minister Michel Samaha is common knowledge, and even though Lebanon narrowly avoided the extensively documented Mamlouk-Samaha conspiracy, the very individual who exposed it, General Wissam al-Hassan, was brazenly assassinated in broad daylight.

Those behind Al-Abssi's arrival in Lebanon, along with those instigating conflicts within the Ain al-Hilweh camp, are equally known.

Likewise, those responsible for importing and warehousing ammonium nitrate at Beirut's port, eventually culminating in the catastrophic explosion that devastated the city and its inhabitants, are known.

The circumstances surrounding Lokman Slim's assassination after he spoke out on the matter are equally conspicuous.

It is left to the Lebanese people to uphold a reverent silence for their martyrs, only to then commence the arduous task of repairing the damage, fragment by fragment, amid the destruction.

Encouraged by the lack of accountability or effective deterrence, crimes continue unabated creating a perpetual circle of injustice.

A cry for justice

Lebanon desperately needs and deserves justice. Without it, there is seemingly no way out of this current spiral of violence and oppression, imposed by Lebanon's sectarian leaders and militias.

What Lebanon needs is a new social contract that transcends the grip of these destructive players so that its citizens can finally heal from decades of turmoil.

Lebanon needs citizens to rise as true stewards of their nation and not be manipulated by leaders who treat them as mere pawns in their political games.

It needs citizens capable of lifting the country out of its current state of upheaval and rescuing them from the belly of the beast.