The swift disintegration of Hezbollah once again presents a narrative that contravenes the fundamental intuitions of many.
The imperative to uphold equitable principles of governance — such as separation of powers, allowing a free press, protecting minority rights, and keeping elections clean — has paradoxically led the Hezbollah leadership to perceive Israel as a nation susceptible to collapse under modest military duress and inflammatory rhetoric, owing to its supposed internal contradictions. The views of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli airstrike, remained consistent over the years. In his “Spider’s Web” speech two decades ago, he claimed that despite Israel’s military strength, Israeli society is weakened and lacks national resilience.
In reality, the opposite happened. Nasrallah completely misjudged how strong Israel’s democracy actually is. This mistake led to his downfall at the hands of Israeli jets, after a string of embarrassing military and intelligence defeats Israel handed him, starting with the clever attack using exploding pagers on 17 September, killing at least 39 people and injuring thousands.
Also read: Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination underlines Israel’s military supremacy. Will it win peace?
Misunderstanding Israel
The illiberal forces in Lebanon and Gaza have persistently failed to grasp the protests in Israel regarding the undermining of the Supreme Court. They still do not acknowledge that the Israelis championing a two-state solution with the Palestinians are nothing like the misguided students demonstrating for Palestinian causes on American campuses. Instead, they are patriotic Israelis willing to lay down their lives for Israel in times of threat.
Among many misconceptions about Hamas and Hezbollah is the belief that they possess an ideology that cannot be diminished or eradicated.
The reality concerning both organisations is that they have employed terror against the local populace to secure their dominant positions. With the backing of Iran and Qatar in terms of diplomatic and economic support, they have managed to drive out more moderate competitors from Gaza and Lebanon, who are equally loyal to the causes of Lebanese and Palestinian nationalism.
The violent nature of both groups, along with their anti-democratic ethos, contributes to Israel’s capacity to infiltrate these organisations. This has led to a chaotic situation in which Nasrallah reportedly struggled to discern which of his officers were loyal soldiers and which were Israeli agents. In a relatively short time frame, 19 out of 20 senior Hezbollah officers were eliminated.
Even if one attributes the Israeli targeting of Nasrallah primarily to GEOINT (geospatial intelligence) and SIGINT (signals intelligence) rather than HUMINT (human intelligence), it is evident that Hezbollah has faltered in its recruitment of HUMINT within Israel. Conversely, Hezbollah, Hamas, and even Iran have become increasingly vulnerable to Israeli HUMINT.
Also read: Attacking Hezbollah isn’t ‘war of no choice’ for Israel. It’s Netanyahu’s distraction strategy
A victory for liberal culture
The efficacy of liberal democracy in Israel is not fundamentally dissimilar to that in other democratic nations. It is predicated on the principle that a liberal democratic populace cannot thrive under an oppressive, autocratic regime, whereas a conservative or even fundamentalist society can readily flourish within a democratic, liberal framework.
Consequently, a democratic and liberal citizenry will either emigrate from nations that fail to reflect its ethos or, as evidenced in Israel during the Benjamin Netanyahu government’s attempt to alter the equilibrium between executive and judiciary, will staunchly resist the nation’s descent through resolute protest.
It is noteworthy that Israeli ground forces had hitherto been absent from Lebanese territory, both throughout the preceding year and during the interval between the pager attack and the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah. Israel’s successes in Lebanon are spearheaded by two branches most closely associated with liberal, secular Israel: the Intelligence Corps and the Air Force. It was from these very quarters that calls emerged—prior to 7 October 2023, naturally—to cease volunteer reserve service should the Netanyahu government curtail the Supreme Court’s authority.
Israel stands unique among Western democracies in two respects. Firstly, the mandatory military service for both women and men ensures that even the more privileged echelons of Israeli-Jewish society contribute their blood to national security. This indirectly tempers the adoption of progressive ideologies that invariably equate Palestinian political frailty with moral rectitude even among Jewish-Israeli liberals.
Secondly, the pervasive concern for Israel’s security amid a hostile milieu engenders a fervent pursuit of geostrategic autonomy—albeit limited—within the pro-American bloc. Israel deems it crucial to occasionally demonstrate its independence from American diktats, even in the face of potential sanctions.
Historical precedents abound: Menachem Begin’s government faced repercussions from Ronald Reagan following the 1981 bombing of Iraq’s nuclear reactor. More recently, Israel assumed control of the Rafah border crossing in Egypt, despite American disapproval.
In stark contrast to Hezbollah—which has devolved into an increasingly subservient Iranian proxy, killing tens of thousands of Sunnis beyond Lebanon’s borders and against its interests, thereby rendering itself both reviled and vulnerable to Israel’s hostile human intelligence—the Israeli populace harbours no doubt that all Israeli security apparatuses operate solely in service of Israel’s policies, democracy, and security interests.
It’s too soon to count out Hezbollah or Hamas, and we mustn’t forget the terrible events of 7 October or how Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas hasn’t exactly endeared us Israelis to the rest of the world.
Nevertheless, Hamas’s recent military ineffectiveness and the significant blows Hezbollah has suffered on both military and intelligence fronts should be viewed as another modest victory for Western liberal culture. It’s a setback for those forces trying to drag us back to the Dark Ages. These regressive groups will never fully comprehend the strength, unity, and internal solidarity that only a genuinely democratic and liberal country can generate.
Lev Aran is a former coordinator of the Israel-India Parliamentary Friendship League and an Israel-based freelance columnist and journalist. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)