-Analysis-
BEIRUT — It’s been one week since the ceasefire in Lebanon was announced, and residents of the south continue to return to their homes. So why is there so little faith in the deal agreed to by the acting Lebanese government authority represented by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, with Hezbollah factions behind him? Why is everyone so skeptical of the complicity of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati?
The matter goes beyond the lack of responsibility towards the southerners during their faltering return to their destroyed villages. It also goes beyond hiding the truth of what was called in Lebanon the “ceasefire agreement”, and what was called in Israel the “60-day truce.”
The returnees arrived in their destroyed villages. They found no one waiting for them. They only found the rubble of their homes, and the dead sleeping underneath. No one was waiting for them. Only Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military spokesman, who threatened to continue killing them.
No water, no electricity, no army, no UN aid workers, and no stores to purchase their needs.
Yes, we must be suspicious about this authority that previously stole the money of the Lebanese, and conspired against them with the banks; the authority that waged a war without caring about the bankruptcy it caused; the authority whose representative, Nabih Berri, told the people of the South to return to their cities and villages, where Avichay Adraee was waiting for them.
No one else was there, but a few exhausted fighters, and huge amounts of rubble, and schoolchildren’s notebooks strewn among the scattered furniture of the destroyed homes.
Mission accomplished
What is the secret of this agreement with Israel that was concluded by the authority represented by its Shiite duo? There is a scandal the Lebanese officials seek to cover up through the “victory” the people were told it’s awaiting them.
The maps that Adraee shares say that there is a buffer zone and an uninhabited area that is part of the deal! But what happens after 60 days?
What should we do… should we leave?
It does not matter to a man like Berri that more than 100,000 southerners don’t return to their villages as long as the deal includes protecting the post, and not holding those responsible accountable.
Israel’s mission of destruction has been completely accomplished, and the occupation prepared the map for it and reminded us of it daily. Do not return to these villages, amidst a resounding Lebanese silence.
Whoever told people to return to their villages did not utter a word when Adraee shares his maps. Those who returned to the villages did not find anyone to answer their question: “What should we do… should we leave?”
People from the buffer zone were deceived, nobody told them about the agreements they signed behind the deal.
No vision for the rubble
What reinforces the suspicion is the lack of any vision for the future of this current state of rubble. Reconstruction is linked not only to the extent of Lebanon’s commitment in the deal, but also to restructuring of authority including the president and the government and his cabinet, according to the secret clauses of the agreement which have been leaked to the media.
So, the southerners whose cities, villages, homes and livelihoods were destroyed, must wait 60 days, and more months to “restrict the authority,” to find someone who will help finance the reconstruction. This is without addressing the issue of the buffer zone, and the future of more than 20 villages whose residents are warned daily by Adraee not to return.
Israel acts as if it has absolute freedom in everything.
No one is telling the residents whether their areas are occupied or not, whether their return is safe or not, and whether they should begin burying their loved ones or wait for another 60 days.
Israel acts as if it has absolute freedom in everything. It continues to launch airstrikes, including one in an area, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border. It kidnapped citizens from Khiam town, and threatened the residents of about 71 villages in the south not to return to their homes.
In his latest interview with Al Jadeed TV, the U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein repeated at least five times that the Lebanese government had agreed to all the terms of the agreement and signed it.
So what did you sign, gentlemen?
The lives of more than 100,000 Lebanese depend on your answer.