AP: Lebanese Government “Based on a Partnership” With Hezbollah

Hezbollah’s recent defeat of Sunni jihadist near the Lebanon-Syria border and subsequent prisoner exchange underscores the degree to which Hezbollah and Lebanon are indivisible, the Associated Press reported Sunday.

The partnership received greater attention after President Donald Trump praised the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri for its efforts to fight terrorist groups including Hezbollah, a characterization which received much criticism. “Far from being an ally in the fight against Hezbollah,” the AP reported, “the Lebanese government headed by Saad Hariri is based on a partnership with the Shiite group, whose clout and dominance in the tiny country is on the rise.”

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Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explained that month that Hezbollah’s widely-reported tactic of hiding military assets in civilian areas would lead to mass casualties. Reports emerged in 2013 that Hezbollah was offering reduced-price housing to Shiite families who allowed the terrorist group to store rocket launchers in their homes. An Israeli defense official told The New York Times in May 2015 that the buildup of Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure in southern Lebanese villages meant that “civilians are living in a military compound” and that their lives were at risk. A few days later, a newspaper linked to Hezbollah bolstered the Israeli assessment.

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