(MENAFN- Arab Times) 
Ahmed Al-Jarallah Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
IN a country on the verge of
bankruptcy, a country which lost regional and international confidence, a
country whose legislators are slammed with sanctions; insecurity moves between
areas while its economy is suffering from choking crisis and the spread of
narcotics among its population like wildfire.
Indeed, this is the present
Lebanon where the paradigm is influenced by Iran through its tools, such as how
the Hezbollah militia group is running the show in the country. Once upon a
time, Lebanon was the lungs of freedom in the Arab world in terms of sanctuary,
terrorism and media.
Today, this country is enduring
all kinds of miseries which foretell nothing but the worst. The situation is
driving away Arab investors searching for a more stable environment to invest
their wealth, far from the militia exploitation of Hezbollah and its kind.
Frankly, the sanctions imposed by
the US on two Hezbollah legislators will not be the end of the story; but the
start of a trend of sanctions on political figures in the country.
According to the path the US is
taking in terms of sanctions, it is gradually barricading this terrorist group.
Without a doubt, more names are waiting to be listed not only among Hezbollah
legislators and ministers, but also the allied forces.
With every break of dawn, Lebanon
goes backwards in every aspect. The financial system is under international
oversight because Hezbollah has transformed the entire Lebanon into a huge
washing machine for laundering money in the Arab world.
Its economy continues to shrink
and its international credit rating dropped at a time public debt continued to
soar to make it appear that a black hole is swallowing every support without
showing a glimmer of hope that things will get better.
This predicament is due to what
is known as the 'crippled third' in the government, which started 20 years ago
when Hezbollah began participating in the rule.
The premier became a mere
observer and the leader of the republic has no authority amidst Hezbollah's
influence in all establishments in the country.
Demonstrations intensified in
recent months as people are protesting against poor living conditions,
increasing number of youth migration, alarming unemployment rate, and the crime
rate becoming a daily topic in Lebanese press due to the interference of
Hezbollah in the security apparatus.
The judicial system is also
suffering from a major crisis. It seems unable to regain confidence, especially
globally, unless Hezbollah and its kind go.
Undoubtedly, the Arab countries,
particularly the GCC, have exerted tremendous efforts in reviving the Lebanese
economy. They provided a lot of aid, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait. However, these countries realized that the support they gave to Lebanon
ended up in finding terrorism represented by Hezbollah and its kind.
With the tough sanctions in
place, this militia group has come up with a new way of funding itself – imposing
donations on ordinary people who are hardly earning their daily bread due to
the choking livelihood crisis.
As comical as it may sound, the
Houthis in Yemen donated about 75 million Yemeni riyals – equivalent to about
$100,000 – to Hezbollah. This is happening while Yemenis are starving because
of the war that the Houthis brought upon themselves. In other words, these
gangs are preventing the Yemenis and Lebanese from keeping their daily bread in
order to fund themselves.
This dark image of Lebanon under
the influence of Hezbollah indicates that the worst is yet to come, and that
the situation will never improve as long as Hezbollah remains in the game in
Lebanon.
Therefore, the Lebanese must
unite and reject this group's practices. They should stand together in front of
the group in order to regain their country; or else, the rope of sanctions that
the international community and the US administration are putting around the
Lebanese neck, in addition to the cold treatment of Arabs and the European Union's
abandonment will leave this country in ruins with Hezbollah's owl hooting on
these ruins.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab
Times
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