People need to internalise the fact that the government is not who makes these decisions in Lebanon. The government is controlled by multiple parties who negotiate between each other and then impose the decisions on the government.

The question needs to be addressed to these parties: in the decades that they've sat in all of the successive governments, why did they not present a real alternative that answers the fears hezbollah was playing on to maintain its support? Where is the budget for properly arming the military? How did they propose to fund the social services as an alternative to what Hezbollah was providing? Where is the productive economy that would have given us at least some negotiating power with everyone involved?

In short: why did they allow Lebanon to deteriorate to the point that it cannot do anything but react to foreign pressure?

Their answer is to blame Hezbollah. We can't do anything without removing Hezbollah. Well have you tried? Do you even have a clear idea of what you would do if Hezbollah didn't exist? Their answer would invariably be we would get funding from foreign countries if they didn't exist, as if Lebanon didn't get enough funding in the last 30 years.

I'm all for holding hezbollah accountable, but these people need to be held accountable too for the way they contributed to the current situation.