Lebanon had ‘no say in the decision to go to war,’ foreign minister says

Lebanon’s foreign minister on Thursday defended Hezbollah’s presence in the region, but said his country had “no say in the decision to go to war” with Israel.

Speaking to CNBC’s Dan Murphy, Abdallah Bou Habib vowed to uphold a U.S.-France brokered cease-fire that is already showing signs of strain, and said he will seek foreign funding to assist in the reconstruction of Lebanon.

“We support Hezbollah, but we don’t support the war as Lebanese, and the government had no say in the decision to go to war, we have to admit that,” he said.

Hezbollah, which operates as both a political party and a paramilitary group, has been accused of dragging Lebanon, a country of over 5 million, into a war it did not want to fight with Israel. The Iran-backed militia, which holds 13 seats officially but has a wider alliance that makes up 62 seats in Lebanon’s 128-member parliament, also controls much of Lebanon’s borders and its airport.

“Iran has influence through Hezbollah on Lebanon,” Bou Habib told CNBC, “but Hezbollah does not run Lebanon” he added. “This government is not under the influence of Iran, Iran has allies in Lebanon, no doubt about that.” 

Hezbollah “will implement” the cease-fire agreement “faithfully,” Bou Habib, said after the French and American-brokered deal, which took effect Wednesday, allowed displaced Israelis and Lebanese to return home after 14 months of intense conflict. 

Both Israel and Hezbollah have accused each other of breaching the cease-fire agreement less than 48 hours after it was agreed.

Lebanon is “ready, willing and determined” to implement UN resolution 1701, Bou Habib said, which aims to ensure Israeli withdrawal from the south and move Hezbollah north of the Litani River. The area, under 1701, would fall under Lebanese Armed Forces control and a U.N. peacekeeping force. Under the current cease-fire agreement, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and Hezbollah from southern Lebanon would occur gradually over the next 60 days, which U.S. Envoy Amos Hochstein told CNBC on Wednesday he hopes will become permanent.

The Lebanese Cabinet also reaffirmed their commitment to 1701, which, under previous UN Security Council resolutions, calls for the “disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon,” including Hezbollah.

The foreign minister caveated this statement by saying that “as long as we have occupied land, it is not difficult, probably impossible, not to have resistance, and I mean military resistance. So we have got to fix our borders with Israel. We have got to fix them once and for good.” 

Lebanese political analyst Ronnie Chatah told CNBC, “the occupation the foreign minister is referring to is the Shebaa farms. This disputed, limited zone that Syria considers Lebanese and that Israel considers occupied, or now annexed. Golan Heights, Lebanon, of course, back then, took the Syrian line. This is not a raison d’etre, to have the largest paramilitary force on the planet.”

The country has been in political deadlock long before the war began. Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun left the post in 2022, and the current government exists in a caretaker format.

Lebanon’s political system is held together by a sectarian power-sharing agreement, guaranteeing the representation of the country’s diverse religious groups, but has often been blamed for contributing to its deadlock.

“I’m not claiming that this government has the trust of all Lebanese, but it has the trust of most Lebanese,” Bou Habib told CNBC. 

The World Bank estimates a total of $8.5 billion in damages to the Lebanese economy, resulting from the conflict which includes physical damage and economic loss.

Lebanon’s Economy Minister Amin Salam told CNBC earlier this month the costs could be much greater, and would stand at around $20 billion in accumulated losses to not only the economy, but infrastructure and employment losses.

The World Bank also estimates the current conflict could “cut Lebanon’s real GDP growth by at least 6.6% in 2024.” Salam added that the country’s embattled economy could contract by as much as 8% to 12% within the next year.  

“The funding challenges for rebuilding efforts in Lebanon are immense and urgent,” Mercy Corps Country Director for Lebanon, Laila Al Amine, told CNBC.

“The conflict has caused extensive damage to roads, water facilities, schools, hospitals, and power plants, requiring substantial resources, skilled labor, and time for reconstruction. Funding remains a critical hurdle, as much of the pledged humanitarian aid has yet to be disbursed,” Al Amine added.

Bou Habib told CNBC: “We are receiving humanitarian help from all Gulf Countries.”

“We did not start discussions on further assistance regarding reconstruction and rebuilding of infrastructure in Lebanon, we’ll be doing that soon and we will see what happens,” he added, on further financial aid.

Gulf Arab states helped rebuild Lebanon after the 2006 war, but years of economic decline and an emboldened Hezbollah could now deter the global community and specifically the Middle East from helping with Lebanon’s costly reconstruction.