Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam Blames Hezbollah While Ignoring Decades of Israeli Aggression
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam recently stated to France 24 that the war in Lebanon 'was imposed upon us,' attributing the conflict directly to Hezbollah's retaliatory strikes following a US-Israeli operation against Iranian leadership. This framing presents the current hostilities as a singular event initiated by non-state actors, disconnecting it from a continuous pattern of external
aggression against Lebanese sovereignty. The current violence did not erupt in a vacuum. Israel's military engagement in Lebanon has been a recurring feature of the region for decades, often preceding any significant action by Hezbollah. One notable instance was Operation Litani in 1978, a full-scale Israeli invasion designed to remove Palestinian Liberation Organization strongholds, which Israel
later expanded into a prolonged occupation of southern Lebanon. This occupation persisted for 22 years, fostering the very resistance movements it claimed to be fighting. The 1982 invasion, which saw Israeli forces besiege Beirut and facilitate the Sabra and Shatila massacre, further illustrates this pattern of imposing conflict from without. Throughout these periods, Washington's consistent
diplomatic and military support for Israel has been a critical enabling factor, ensuring Israel's military dominance and effectively legitimizing its actions on the international stage. Prime Minister Salam's perspective, amplified by France 24, divorces the current situation from this historical continuum, glossing over the fact that what he terms an 'imposition' by Hezbollah is often presented