Israel’s attack on Lebanon last week killed over 300 people and injured more than 2,000. Some conservative commentators have claimed that the strike disrupted a potential political plot to overthrow the Lebanese government. American commentator Erick Stakelbeck stated on his YouTube channel: “It seems Israel uncovered this plot by Hezbollah to essentially overthrow the Lebanese government, and Lebanon apparently averted a major disaster here, thanks to the Israeli air force.”
However, allegations of a Hezbollah plan to topple the government have not been confirmed by any official sources—neither Hezbollah nor the Lebanese or Israeli authorities. DW’s inquiries to Israel’s defense ministry and military went unanswered by publication time. The rumors initially surfaced in Israeli media but were actually propagated by social media user Sufyan al-Samarrai, known for inflammatory anti-Iran, pro-Israel commentary.
In Lebanon, reports of the “Beirut coup” were further circulated by regional media outlets, including Arabic- and French-language publications. MTV Lebanon wrote a day after the attack: “According to informed sources, Hezbollah was planning to arrest ministers, members of parliament and political figures, and to target the prime minister by bombing the Grand Serail or his residence.”
Several factors made the coup story appear believable. For instance, Lebanon’s prime minister declined to travel to the U.S. for talks with Israel on April 12, which some observers interpreted as a sign of dealing with a coup. There were also rumors that Israel targeted mid-tier Hezbollah members during a Zoom call, but a Zoom spokesperson denied this, stating that location data is approximate and not precise enough for airstrikes.
Hezbollah plays an outsized role in Lebanon, ostensibly representing the country’s Shiite Muslims, who make up about 30% of the population, and is often described as “a state within a state.” It presents itself as a defender of Lebanese sovereignty but is closely allied with Iran. Critics of Hezbollah accuse it of dragging Lebanon into war on behalf of a foreign power, a sentiment echoed by many locals.
Currently, talks between Lebanon and Israel have begun in Washington, focusing on Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon. Amal Saad, a political scientist and Hezbollah expert at Cardiff University, explains that Hezbollah is averse to civil strife, especially in the current war context with over a million displaced people, making a coup unlikely. While Hezbollah fighters took control of parts of West Beirut in 2008, a former senior Israeli defense official noted that the situation is now very different.
Whether real or not, the alleged Hezbollah coup has become a subject of intense debate in Lebanon, deepening political divisions. Professor Makram Rabah of the American University of Beirut wrote that the country awoke to the possibility of peace, but Hezbollah seems focused on overthrowing the government. Conversely, the outlet Liba News argued that Israel’s account of a coup is a pretext for disproportionate bombing, aimed at disrupting diplomatic dynamics between the U.S. and Iran.
Source: www.dw.com