The Lebanese military system continues to yield to Hezbollah and once again demonstrates that the large gap between the declarations of the country’s leaders regarding who is permitted to hold weapons and the prohibition on Hezbollah’s military activity and the reality on the ground. During March 2026, five Hezbollah operatives were arrested by Lebanese security forces in two separate incidents (one of these operatives was recently eliminated in the fighting). Their arrest was based on charges of transporting and possessing illegal weapons and carrying out actions that expose Lebanon to the risk of hostile acts by a foreign state. In the first incident, three Hezbollah operatives were arrested with light weapons and military equipment at one of the crossings over the Litani River heading south. They were immediately released by the military judge on bail of $20 each… In the second incident, two Hezbollah operatives were arrested in the village of Houneh (Jezzine area) while transporting 21 Grad rockets from the Beqaa region to southern Lebanon. As of April 21, the military court released these two Hezbollah operatives on bail (equivalent to $1,100 per person). It is clear that the Lebanese state cannot disarm Hezbollah (after all, Hezbollah will not do so voluntarily), and it also does not want to do so, mainly due to fear of the consequences of such a move. However, why does it choose not to exercise its sovereignty even in places where it can? Were the weapons permanently confiscated, or did they return to Hezbollah through a “revolving door” method? Why were these operatives not sentenced to lengthy imprisonment and instead of being released were not incarcerated in Roumieh prison? Another test case in which the Lebanese state has once again failed…
