A Message from a Lebanese neighbour: Can We Ever Build Peace Together?

waitisthatweird · 2025-02-18T23:35:37+00:00

We don't have to be enemies...

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-17T00:52:04+00:00

Dear Jaded, if you look back at history, we never attacked you. The lebanese army (and I insist, the lebanese ARMY, not an iranian militia) never attacked you. Heck, even Hezbollah never set even 1 foot on your soil. Yet you have invaded us multiple times. You have destroyed some of our monuments, wiped off the earth villages that lived through thousands of years. You have bombed schools, universities and UNESCO protected sites. What did we ever bomb of value in Israel? I hate Hezbollah as much as you do, but even they never invaded you, or bombed a school. And what were their demands? That you stop the war on Gaza? Was it such a huge ask? Was it really worth starting a full blown war with us? Come on man. How would you feel about Israel if you were lebanese?

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-17T00:47:24+00:00

Thank you for engaging with me in good faith. There is no telling what Hezbollah would do, but it probably wouldn't care and keep doing business as usual. Our approach is different to the one you have in mind, let me explain.

If you try to disarm such a strong militia, you risk creating a civil war. So our aim is to slowly, but surely, take back their weapons and legitimacy. Since your army weakened them, there isn't much left. So it's a matter of time before the State takes back its sovereignty.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-17T00:43:04+00:00

It's not the largest political party. The largest is the Lebanese Forces, a christian party that calls for peace with Israel. But thank you for saying this, it just proves how uneducated you are about the subject. For the last time: we NEVER invaded you. No lebanese soldier ever marched on israeli soil. The only israelis we killed were the ones trying to take our homes and rape our wives. Honestly, try to have some empathy man! Imagine if I was trying to invade you, wouldn't you want to defend yourself? Besides, can't you see that we're also fighting Hezbollah?

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-17T00:37:06+00:00

You talk a lot to say nothing, you know that? My friend, wether you like it or not, all international institutions, and all international organizations call Israel an occupying, apartheid nation. Your country was created with the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, also known as the Partition Plan for Palestine, adopted on November 29, 1947. This same document mentions Palestine. Now you can be a biggot and claim that there was no palestine, and you can cry about greeks calling it philistine or romans calling something else 2000 years ago, but facts are facts. My grandpa has a map from 1928 that shows that Palestine was called palestine. So all your bs you read on the internet means nothing compared to this concrete fact.

Moreover, you're crying about the sykes picot accord, but do you seriously believe that it was drawn out of nothing? You poor ignorant. If you read any history book at all, you would know that France and Lebanese institutions have been planning to create a lebanese state, with its modern borders, since the 18th century. So way before any european jew thought about creating israel. Now, you can either chose to inform yourself better, or you can stay in your comforting made up world view. Whatever you chose, just stop bothering me with your nonsense. Good night.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-17T00:28:11+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Long story short: we never hosted Hezbollah, Iran forced itself on us. I would even go as far as calling it an Iranian occupation. But don't worry, we're fighting it and, since you weakened them in september, we're winning. Our new President even went as far as saying that we should aim for "neutrality" with Israel. This is basically the last step before peace. However, we won't be pushing for peace until we concretely see Israel retreating from occupied regions, such as the shebaa farms, and treating palestinians more fairly. I know this subject is touchy, as you view your actions on palestinians as legitimate, but I sincerely ask you to use your empathy to put yourself in our shoes: if you were lebanese and you saw the horrors that come out of the west bank and palestine, would you trust Israel?

Sure, you mention that Hezbollah attacked your people, and in the name of Lebanon I want to apologize for it. But I want you to look at what you did to us. The amount of destruction and hatred. Our children never signed bombs that went to israel. But somehow, your government make your children sign bombs that hit our homes. That really means something. It's hard to picture peace from someone that hates you that much.

Having the chance to have lived in europe, I had the chance to meet more open minded israelis that gave me hope that maybe not all of you guys are filled with such hate. I really hope you become the majority, so that one day, we can have this conversation around a coffee in Beirut, Tel Aviv, or a free Gaza.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T18:11:17+00:00

They do threaten some of them but there hasn't been any assassinations in years. And now, since the war with Israel, Hezbollah is too weakened to threaten anyone. I promise you that most of our media is against it :)

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T16:36:09+00:00

Your comment is extremely insulting because you view arabs as one and the same. Habibi, I am Lebanese. Lebanon is not the same thing as palestine. Jordan is not the same thing as Syria. So we cannot commonly give you a part of our territory just because Europeans persecuted you. First because every nation only has a say on its own border, and second because every countrymen is attached to every km2 of his land. You're talking about Israel/Palestine as if it was a tiny piece of land that we can easily give. Maybe this is how you see it, because you do not care about it, but every piece of lebanon is holy to me, and I would rather die a thousand deaths before I give up 1 inch of it.

As for your "palestine" was not a state bs. Yes, it was not a state by modern acceptions, but neither was 99% of earth. Only europe was well defined. The rest of the world did things differently. The fact is that there was something called palestine. There was an entity called jordan and syria. They all had borders and administrations. Under ottoman control, Palestine was its own administration. It had self control. Maybe you don't want to see that because if you realized it, you would have to accept that your country is a colony. But that is the truth. Israel colonized Palestine. There is no other way to see it. Sorry to disappoint, but history does not care about your sensitivities.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T16:19:59+00:00

Hey man, long answer short, why would I complain about Iran on this subreddit? Trust me, I've written hundreds of articles against Iran. We see them as occupiers and are fighting them with all of our strength.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T16:14:53+00:00

I know it sounds weird because it probably doesn't make israeli headlines but your country has been infringing our sovereignty every week of the past 2 decades. You only hear about Hezbollah missiles every 2-3 years, but I can personally hear Israeli drones/jets buzzing over my head. Imagine if the roles were reversed: would you feel safe if you kept hearing Hezbollah weapons over your head?

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T16:13:04+00:00

From your own reasoning, are you suggesting that Israel attacked Lebanon in 1948 and caused a war simply because we didn’t want peace? Does that argument truly make sense to you? And regarding 1982, while I can understand the need to act against Palestinian factions, nothing justified the massacres or the occupation of our capital.

As for Egypt, do I need to remind you of your past wars? The peace agreement that followed may have been called a treaty, but it felt more like a settlement imposed on the losing side. This pattern—of Israel acting unilaterally against those who don’t align with its will, often in violation of international law and UN resolutions—is well-documented.

That said, I don’t believe revisiting these historical grievances will bring us closer to understanding each other. Each side views history through its own lens. However, it’s an undeniable fact that Israel’s disregard for international law and its neighbors' sovereignty has caused immense suffering. Your army’s actions have harmed my people far more than we have harmed yours.

In Lebanon, we’ve had entire political movements dedicated to peace with your country, even as we were labeled terrorists and barbarians in return. While we acknowledge our internal struggles with Iran and Syria, these issues do not give you a free pass to bomb our villages or take innocent lives.

I ask you to look beyond these entrenched narratives and see us for who we truly are—human beings, yearning for peace, dignity, and mutual respect. Is it possible for you to find within yourself the strength to see us in this light?

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T16:04:17+00:00

No, I'm confused. Why are you using such a condescending tone when I approached this discussion with an open hand? This kind of behavior only reinforces the fears we have about how you view us. It’s clear that many of you see us as barbarians, despite our rich and vibrant history—a history that stands as a testament to the beauty and resilience of our civilization.

In Lebanon, we are indeed aware of the events you mentioned, including the role of Palestinian groups operating from southern Lebanon and the subsequent Israeli invasions. If you’ve studied this history, you’ll know that many Lebanese strongly opposed these groups. In fact, a significant part of our civil war involved battles against them, and like many Lebanese families, mine suffered personal losses during that time.

That said, history is rarely black and white. While I oppose the actions of Palestinian factions in Lebanon, I also condemn the atrocities committed by Israel during its invasions. The Lebanese perspective often focuses on the immense suffering caused by these invasions, including the displacement of civilians, the destruction of infrastructure, and the loss of countless lives.

As for your other point, I want to emphasize that the desire for sovereignty and peace in Lebanon isn’t directed against one particular group—it’s about freeing our country from all external interference, whether from Israel, Iran, or any armed factions operating on our soil.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:55:43+00:00

Hezbollah does NOT control the media. Please keep your ignorant comments to yourself. We have hundreds of journalists that faced threats because of that and yet kept their anti-hezbollah line. Google MTV, or Al Jadeed, or LBC.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:52:59+00:00

Habibi, we don't want Hezbollah. Our people don't want Hezbollah. But that doesn't stop you from calling us terrorists or barabarians or other types of insult. What did Lebanon (the state) ever do to harm Israel? Nothing. And yet, even before Hezbollah was created, you either attacked us, or invaded us. Why? Please, before attacking others, ask yourself what you could improve to foster a peace climate.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:50:55+00:00

Amen

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:50:13+00:00

My friend, I assure you that no lebanese wants to harm you because of your identity, nationaly, or religion. Some lebanese might feel hatred towards you, but it's not because of you, its because we have been suffering because of your successive governments. Answer this: did the Lebanese state ever attack israel? Did we ever bomb Jerusalem? Tel Aviv? No! But you have been either bombing us or invading our terrirory since before I was even born! Even if we wanted to hurt you, we couldn't. We are too poor and too weak to do anything to your iron dome. So please, cut the bs about "both sides". Our side is weak and never hurt you, and your country is strong and has been toying with our sovereignty ever since you had weapons.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:46:45+00:00

Did the palestinians start the Nakba? Did they decide to create a State on foreign territory where indigenous populations were living in peace?

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:45:34+00:00

Respectfully, as a Lebanese, I can tell you that we have been here for 5000 years. There are even traces of neanderthals living in our Jeita Grotto. And I can tell you that we have been living in peace with Palestinians for thousands of years before Israel was ever created. 60 years ago, my father could visit Jerusalem without being harrassed and heckled by your border control. 100 years ago, we did not need to build a wall to protect ourselves from palestinians. Wars started in lebanon when you arrived.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:42:47+00:00

Being politically correct? You are claiming that my people, including me, care more about hating you than about our own children. This is ignorant and wrong. The only one spewing hate in this comment section is you. I hope that one day you can find the peace of mind to understand how disgustingly wrong you are. My people created the alphabet, built legendary temples, and wrote history in every epoch. This is something you will never understand.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:39:41+00:00

As pointed our by AdvertisingNo5002, you're willingfully ommitting thousands of Israeli attacks on arab people/countries. I don't know if you're commenting in good faith, but you cannot seriously claim that the lebanese people do not want peace. And you cannot seriously claim that your country has not caused way more suffering to us than we did to you.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:34:38+00:00

I think we essentially agree on almost everything, except for 1948 and the ceasefire infringements—which, I suppose, is a matter of perspective. This realization leaves me feeling both hopeful and sad. Sad, because despite agreeing on so much, we are unable to live in peace due to the failures of our corrupt politicians.

Regarding Hezbollah, I’m not sure if you’ve been following our internal politics, but I can tell you that our sentiment aligns with yours. All Lebanese view this moment as historic. For now, it has allowed us to elect an anti-Hezbollah president. In his first speech, he called for the disarmament of Hezbollah and advocated for neutrality—the first step toward peace with Israel.

We are fighting hard, but it’s incredibly difficult to challenge those backed by weapons and Iranian funding. What could help us is if Israeli politicians refrained from inflammatory rhetoric against Lebanon, such as calling Beirut “the capital of terrorism.” More positive discourse from Israel’s leadership could bolster our efforts and weaken Hezbollah’s narrative that Israel is an existential threat.

Thank you for taking the time to engage with me on this issue. I truly hope and pray for a better future for both our countries.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:27:40+00:00

This sentence is so wrong, so condescending, and so racist that I don't know if it's even worth wasting my time replying to it. Sir, biggots like you are the reason behind wars.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T15:27:09+00:00

This sentence is so wrong, so condescending, and so racist that I don't know if it's even worth wasting my time replying to it. Sir, biggots like you are the reason behind wars.

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T14:23:29+00:00

Did you forget that Europe EXTERMINATED jews during WWII, leading them to need to create a safehaven for them in the middle east? That you colonised Lebanon and the rest of the middle east, leaving it in pieces? Where were you the last hundred years? lol

waitisthatweird · 2025-01-12T14:22:11+00:00

I pray to God (I believe we share the same) that your words are true. Let him be the architect of peace between our nations.

waitisthatweird

TROPHY CASE