Fear of a Photograph!
Lebanon has no alternative but to pursue negotiations with Israel in order to achieve the desired objective: obtaining an Israeli withdrawal and enabling the displaced to return to their villages and towns. That is what genuine patriotism means, far removed from the temptation to cling to a past dominated by glittering slogans such as “praying in Jerusalem,” slogans that have led only to the return of occupation.
Ultimately, Lebanon faces a reality from which it cannot escape forever. That reality lies not only in the price the country must now pay for the wars waged by Iran, through Hezbollah, against Israel. It also lies in the emergence of new parameters that now shape the region, parameters to which Lebanon would do well to adapt instead of remaining captive to Iranian tutelage. Lebanon must determine the price it is prepared to pay in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal, if it wishes to avoid falling into the Iranian trap. At the heart of that trap lies the Islamic Republic’s determination to turn Lebanon and its people into bargaining chips, regardless of the devastation and destruction inflicted upon the South and other parts of the country.
Iran’s objective in Lebanon has never changed. That is why Tehran continues to refuse to acknowledge the transformation that has taken place across the region. The Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continue to view Lebanon as a bargaining chip in any negotiations with the United States.
Faced with Iran’s refusal to recognize the region’s transformation, Lebanon should stop fleeing reality on the one hand and refuse to submit to Iranian logic on the other. In that context, it is pointless for Lebanese officers negotiating with the Israelis in Washington to avoid appearing in a photograph bringing together all the delegations taking part in the talks. Such a gesture changes nothing. It does, however, convey the image of an outdated Lebanese mindset determined to reduce Lebanon to little more than an Iranian satellite. Appeasing Tehran serves no purpose. It produces only one result: perpetuating the occupation and entrenching it. Hezbollah thrives on that occupation, which Iran seeks to perpetuate in pursuit of illusions it continues to nurture. Iran chooses to ignore that the most recent wars were fought on its own soil and that, in the end, it found itself negotiating with the Americans and signing a memorandum of understanding with them, with nothing to suggest that it will resolve any of the outstanding disputes between the Islamic Republic and the United States, between Iran and Israel, or even between the Islamic Republic and the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Against that backdrop, the first thing Lebanese officers should understand is that they are not negotiating with ghosts. They are negotiating with the Israeli army, which occupies Lebanese territory and will not withdraw as long as Hezbollah retains its weapons. Real courage lies simply in working to bring the occupation to an end rather than helping to entrench it, instead of hiding behind resounding slogans and shying away from a photograph with the negotiating delegation. Are the Lebanese officials negotiating with Israel under the authority of the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister traitors, or are they, on the contrary, the very embodiment of patriotism in a country that has fallen under Iranian domination, a domination that brought Israel back into southern Lebanon?
Simon Karam, head of the Lebanese negotiating delegation, and Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, need no certificate of patriotism from anyone. For one simple reason: the negotiations Lebanon is conducting in the American capital are taking place openly and are aimed, above all else, at bringing the occupation to an end. Could there be a more honorable mission?
Lebanon is negotiating under exceptionally complex circumstances. The difficulty stems less from Israeli intransigence than from the profound transformation that has taken place within Israel, where a majority now believes that coexistence with Hezbollah’s weapons is no longer possible. Benjamin Netanyahu has no room to make concessions on a withdrawal from Lebanon without clear Lebanese guarantees regarding Hezbollah’s arsenal. Put more plainly, the Israel that existed before the Al Aqsa Flood bears little resemblance to the Israel that emerged after Hamas launched its attack on the communities surrounding Gaza on October 7, 2023. There is no longer any room for agreements under the banner of the “rules of engagement,” whether with Hamas in Gaza or with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Such agreements are no longer conceivable, particularly since the American administration has shown no willingness to exert significant pressure on Israel over Lebanon.
The issue is no longer fear of a photograph. The real issue is Lebanon’s ability to appear in Washington with a single, united delegation that knows exactly what it wants, free from political posturing. In the end, one question alone remains: does Lebanon truly want to end the occupation instead of helping to perpetuate it? Does it want to avoid falling into the Iranian trap built upon exploiting southern Lebanon and its people, particularly its Shiite population?
One thing is certain: fear of a photograph bodes ill. Far more encouraging is the existence of a Lebanese determination to continue the negotiations along an independent path, separate from the American-Iranian track. That would reflect genuine Lebanese courage, rather than taking refuge behind slogans and the chronic complexes that continue to shape attitudes toward the Israeli occupation.