By Laila Bassam, Maya Gebeily, Tom Perry and Nazih Osseiran
BEIRUT, March 4 (Reuters) – Hezbollah’s decision to enter the Middle East war in support of its patron Iran has opened a rift with its main political ally at home in Lebanon, leaving the group deeply isolated as the country lurches into another devastating conflict with Israel.
The move, which caught even some top Hezbollah officials off guard, has sharpened splits in Lebanon over Hezbollah’s status as an armed group, a reality that for decades made it Lebanon’s most powerful political player and a regional military force.
Hezbollah, founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, launched rockets and drones into neighbouring Israel on Monday to avenge the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The attack drew swift Israeli retaliation in which dozens of Lebanese were killed and tens of thousands displaced, just 15 months after a previous war in which Israel wrought devastation on Lebanon that deepened its already severe economic crisis.
The turmoil revived a perennial criticism of Hezbollah among some Lebanese that the group, for decades better armed than Lebanon’s army, acts as a “state-within-a-state” that repeatedly plunges the country into conflict by fighting with Israel.
The group’s attack even strained ties with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shi’ite politician who has moved in political lockstep with the group for decades, four Lebanese sources familiar with the rift said.
Berri’s view reflects wider frustration in Hezbollah’s core Shi’ite constituency over the attack, according to interviews with more than a dozen Shi’ite Lebanese, including Hezbollah loyalists.
ALIENATING A KEY ALLY
Facing criticism in Lebanon that it had put Iran’s interests first, senior Hezbollah politician Mahmoud Qmati on Tuesday told Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed that the group’s “political and military decisions are Lebanese.”
But top Hezbollah political officials had not been briefed on the intent to attack, according to two Lebanese political figures close to the group and a senior Lebanese security official, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.
They said the group’s top decision-making bodies, the Shura Council and Jihad Council, had agreed on the move but had not told most of the party’s political leaders, leaving them “in a state of confusion” on Monday.
Asked about internal divisions that left officials in the dark, Qmati said Hezbollah was operating with “the highest degree of unity.”
The attack also cracked open a faultline between Hezbollah and Berri, who heads the Shi’ite Muslim Amal Movement and whose alliance with Hezbollah had created a powerful duopoly over Shi’ite representation in Lebanon’s multi-sectarian system.
Berri has long been a key interlocutor with Hezbollah, negotiating with other actors on its behalf, including to secure the 2024 ceasefire that ended the last war with Israel.
BERRI FELT HE HAD BEEN ‘FOOLED’, SAY FOUR POLITICAL FIGURES
In the week before Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, Berri had received “assurances” from Hezbollah that it did not aim to launch a war with Israel or retaliate against Israel for its attacks on Iran, said the two Lebanese political figures and two other Lebanese political sources familiar with Berri’s position.
Reassured, he passed on the messages to top Lebanese officials including President Joseph Aoun.
After the group’s attack, Berri was upset with Hezbollah and felt he had been “fooled,” the four political figures said.
In a Lebanese cabinet session on Monday, Amal-affiliated ministers did not vote against a decree that outlawed Hezbollah’s military activities. A fifth Lebanese political figure close to Hezbollah said Berri felt he could not confront widespread pressure to isolate the group.
“It’s understandable because Berri was promised Hezbollah would not intervene. This certainly sets things up for a political confrontation between the government and Hezbollah,” said Michael Young, at the Carnegie Middle East Center.
“Hezbollah is in a very bad position and has been put in a corner,” he said.
Two Hezbollah-affiliated ministers in cabinet told Reuters they opposed the cabinet’s decision.
“We objected to the cabinet’s approach to the discussion and its demand to hold the resistance (Hezbollah) accountable. The resistance is not to be held accountable,” said Lebanon’s health minister Rakan Nassereddine.
Qmati, the Hezbollah official, said Hezbollah “did not let down our great ally, Speaker Berri… this will become clear in the coming days.”
One of the politicians, who is close to both Berri and Hezbollah, said the rift between the two Shi’ite parties couldn’t last.
‘WE ARE NOT IN FAVOUR’
“We have to repair this, but we can’t even talk to top Hezbollah figures right now. They’re unreachable,” the politician said.
Even Hezbollah’s constituents were stunned by the group’s attack, a dozen of them told Reuters on condition of anonymity, as public criticism of the group remains a taboo for most of the Shi’ite community.
One person who has actively supported Hezbollah told Reuters that they had attended a rally organized by the group on Sunday evening to protest against Khamenei’s killing. They returned home, convinced that was the most Hezbollah would do.
“We were frankly surprised when the Israelis said rockets had been launched from Lebanon and we kept waiting for Hezbollah’s denial. But the real surprise came when Hezbollah claimed responsibility,” the person said.
“Frankly, we are not in favour of starting a war with unforeseen consequences. Absolutely not. And whoever made this decision is wrong. Look at how scattered the people are in the streets, not knowing where to go. Does this community, which has made so much sacrifice, deserve this?”
(Reporting by Laila Bassam, Tom Perry, Nazih Osseiran and Maya Gebeily; Writing by Maya Gebeily, Editing by William Maclean)
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