When will we wake up from our slumber!?

BEIRUT – With the 60-day ceasefire deadline approaching, i.e. on January 26, Israeli violations of the truce are escalating south and north of the Litani.

On Friday, Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, will visit Lebanon to chair the fourth meeting of the five-member committee to discuss the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the border towns.

In the last meeting, chaired by Amos Hochstein, the US envoy to West Asia, it was decided to deploy the Lebanese army in the entire western sector between January 7 and 23. However, this did not happen due to the escalation of the Israeli occupation army’s attacks in conjunction with bulldozing and bombing operations.

It is worth noting that it is not just the Israeli spy drones that do not leave the skies of the south. Coinciding with the visit of US General Jasper Jeffers, head of the committee, to the headquarters of the Fifth Brigade in Al-Bayada, US drones flew in the skies south of the Litani River and monitored geographical coordinates. 

Military sources suggest that the US drones flew from military bases in the Western Galilee settlements inside the occupied Palestinian territories. In addition to these drones, there was talk of spy drones controlled by UNIFIL forces, which monitored Hezbollah’s military facilities.

The occupation forces warned Lebanese army soldiers against approaching the separation wall in Ras al-Naqoura and asked them to leave, saying that the occupation has been dealing – for years – with the liberated area of Ras al-Naqoura as a buffer zone.

Meanwhile, the colonial schemes that were hatched in the dark are now being announced in public. Without any ambiguity, the Israelis and the Americans no longer hesitate to declare their expansionist intentions, disregarding the principles of international law, especially respect for the sovereignty of states and their territorial integrity.

This coincides with the return of Trump, who may capture Greenland and the Panama Canal by force, and what Israel Katz, the Israeli war minister, has leaked regarding dividing Syria into cantons. 

In parallel, it coincides with the continuation of the genocidal war in Gaza; the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem; the political coups in Lebanon; the ongoing threat of aggression against Yemen; and threats of striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

It is nothing but the arrogant nature of the US and Israeli leaders that motivates them to seize any available opportunities to advance their imperialist ambitions. 

This colonial boasting is undoubtedly temporary because these same enemies realize that the resistance forces are invincible and that a sovereign ally like Iran – both government and people – stands firmly with them, and will enable them to restore their righteous position. 

Trump’s prevailing paradigm currently requires containing China, which is obviously an extremely difficult task. This will force Washington – sooner or later – to withdraw from its bloody involvement in West Asia, which reacts strongly to any attempts to divide it into cantons.

In light of Trump’s priority to control the United States’ “limited” capabilities, this requires readiness to end the Russian-Ukrainian war. Accordingly, this entails curbing Netanyahu’s ambitions -to some extent- in a bid to reduce tensions in West Asia, as mentioned by Elridge Colby, the future assistant to the US Secretary of Defense.

Indeed, the successive US administrations, Republican and Democratic, have previously claimed the vital need to contain China; alleviate the “burdens” of West Asia; and reduce the economic, technological and social challenges suffered by the US citizens. However, their ideological bias towards Zionism has prevented them from achieving them. Hence, it is unlikely that the current Trump team, which includes fundamentalist Zionists, will deviate from this path.

In any case, the mere hint of an American withdrawal, even if limited, from West Asia will push the occupying entity to establish itself – with all its might – through military, security and political encroachment as the Zionists sense that the conditions for their illegitimate survival are seriously threatened.

Once again, these reveal the truthful approach of the Axis of Resistance in the region and reinforce its indisputable legitimacy. Undoubtedly, uniting the Lebanese nation is sufficient to secure its independence and freedom.