A Knife in the Back from Within: Hezbollah's Historic Allies Abandon Ship

Lebanese sources told Aram News that direct communication between Hezbollah and the presidency has been severed since the framework agreement with Israel. Berri visited the presidential palace in a political message, contrary to Hezbollah's boycott. A document drafted behind its back calls for transferring weapons to the army and leaving war and peace decisions to the state. Hezbollah finds itself outside the 'Defense of Lebanon' document, and the political system is examining reducing its influence.

Lebanese political sources told the website Aram News that direct communication channels between Hezbollah and the Lebanese presidency have been completely severed since the signing of the framework agreement with Israel under American auspices. The visit of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to the presidential palace was not merely a protocol move but a political message intended to clarify that the functioning of constitutional institutions must be maintained even in the face of deep disagreements. In doing so, Berri positions himself on a different track from Hezbollah, which continues to maintain a position of disengagement from the presidency. According to the sources, this is one of the first times since the war that a broad political initiative is taking shape dealing with the future of the state and the issue of weapons without Hezbollah's participation. A dramatic document drafted behind Hezbollah's back did not stop at calling for strengthening the army but emphasized that the decision on war and peace should remain solely in the hands of the state—a position that directly touches the security and military model on which Hezbollah has relied for years. Hezbollah finds itself in an unusual situation: without direct contact with the Lebanese presidency, outside the 'Defense of Lebanon' document, and while Berri chooses to keep the door open with President Joseph Aoun instead of joining the boycott policy. This means that the political system in Lebanon is no longer necessarily trying to reach an arrangement that places Hezbollah at its center, but is beginning to examine the possibility of an arrangement that would gradually reduce its influence and return security and political decisions to the hands of state institutions.