Hezbollah's leadership crisis exposes unprecedented cracks in the Shiite community

A seemingly minor incident in the southern Lebanese village of Halousiyeh, where Hezbollah representatives opposed naming a street after Amal's founder alongside Nasrallah, reveals cracks in the Shiite community. An independent poll found 66% of Shiites support disarming Hezbollah and 42% express disappointment with the organization. In response, a poll by a Hezbollah-affiliated institute found broad support for keeping weapons. The article analyzes the leadership crisis of Naim Qassem and the implications for a future war with Israel.

A seemingly minor incident in the southern Lebanese village of Halousiyeh reveals deep cracks in the Shiite community since the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah. A proposal by Amal council members to name a street after Amal's founder, Musa al-Sadr, alongside Nasrallah, met with opposition from Hezbollah representatives and threatened to lead to resignations. The article presents a broad picture of Hezbollah's leadership crisis: a poll by Statistics Lebanon among 800 Shiites found that 66% support disarming the organization and 42% express disappointment with its performance. In response, a research institute affiliated with Hezbollah conducted its own poll among 1,065 Shiites, which it claims shows 97% oppose normalization with Israel and 84% support keeping weapons with the organization. The organization struggles to deal with internal criticism over the situation of Shiite refugees and offers an average compensation of about $13,000 to those whose homes were damaged. A commentary article by Yuval Rosenberg from the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center assesses that Nasrallah's successor, Naim Qassem, struggles to fill his shoes and his authority rests on institutional rather than personal standing. The article assesses that in a future war between Israel and Iran, Israel may strike the Dahieh district and Shiite concentrations in eastern Lebanon with force.