SHEBAA, Lebanon: Residents of Arqoub, which includes the southern districts of Kfar Shuba, Shebaa and Hasbaya, expressed mixed reactions to Hezbollah’s operation earlier in the week which wounded two Israeli soldiers, leading Israeli forces to fire a barrage of shells into the area.
Despite the Israeli attack, the sound of schoolchildren at play echoed through the streets of Kfar Shuba Wednesday.
“We don’t talk politics like most” in Lebanon, Mayor Qasim Qadri said. “We support the liberation of all occupied territories in our great south, including the Shebaa Farms and the hills of Kfar Shuba. I am not a military analyst, but there must be total coordination between the resistance and the Army.”
But not all residents seemed to agree with the mayor.
Abu Mohammad, a farmer, was returning from his fields on the back of his donkey when he stopped to share his thoughts.
He said that the operation was not carried out “at the right time,” adding: “I don’t think these operations work, so let us leave the work to the diplomats. We’re tired.”
On Tuesday, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for planting a bomb that wounded two Israeli soldiers in the occupied Shebaa on the southern border, two days after Israeli fire wounded a Lebanese soldier. Israel responded by firing at least 15 artillery rounds into an area not far from civilian residences, causing no casualties. The operation was the first to take place in the area in years.
Abu Afif, a passerby, echoed Abu Mohammad’s sentiments.
“I support the liberation of the Kfar Shuba hills, the Shebaa Farms, the Golan Heights and every grain of soil, but not from here,” he said.
Arqoub is predominantly Sunni, and historically has been steadfast in its support for any armed resistance against Israel, whether led by Palestinians, Lebanese nationalists Islamist groups or Hezbollah.
Following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and the signing of the Egyptian-brokered Cairo Agreement three years later, the area became known as “Fatah Land,” after Lebanon granted Palestine Liberation Organization factions, led by the Fatah Movement, the right to launch military operations against Israel from Arqoub. The area was considered especially strategic for its proximity to the Golan Heights and the West Bank.
Due to its links to the resistance, the area came under devastating attack by the Israelis throughout the early 1970s.
In recent decades, the affiliation of the area changed, and now most support the Future Movement and Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, while some residents still back Leftist parties.
But despite this trend, those living on the border have continued to support the resistance and a number of locals gave their lives fighting against Israel alongside Hezbollah in the July 2006 war.
A testament to its unique political makeup, pictures of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and his son Saad Hariri hang at the entrance to Kfar Shuba alongside those of Hezbollah fighters from the village who died in the 2006 war.
Nearby Shebaa, home to 6,000 displaced Syrians, was targeted by dozens of Israeli shells in response to Hezbollah’s attack Tuesday.
Abu Hussein Nabaa, a laborer, said that Hezbollah’s operations “bring us the woe and destruction of Israel’s response, and do not forget that there are thousands of Syrians. Where can either of us go?”
But Mahmoud Zahra, a shepherd, saluted the resistance and its recent operation.
“I support the return of [military] operations and the resistance, which preserves our dignity and honor,” he said. “ Israel did not dare cross the Blue Line, which was drawn by the United Nations. But with the cessation of [Hezbollah] operations, Israel arrests us and shoots us every day. I am with the deterrence of the Lebanese Army and the resistance.”
A displaced Syrian who called himself Abu Abdo said: “As Arabs, we are all with the resistance, so let Hezbollah pull out of Syria and we will all support it.”
Mohammad Jirar, the public relations officer of Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya in Shebaa, emphasized his support for armed resistance and the return of occupied lands, but voiced suspicion over the timing of the operation, noting that Hezbollah had not carried out military operations in the region for the past eight years.
“We support the return of operations to the Shebaa Farms to legitimize military action in the face of the Israeli enemy, as this land is occupied,” he said, but added: “Why now?
“We have been resisting since before [Hezbollah’s] resistance ... we are at the forefront of resistance,” he said.
Shebaa’s mukhtar, Abdo Hashem, also qualified his support for the resistance.
“We are with the resistance, but we have a delicate situation and more important matters ... we fear for the displaced [Syrians],” he said.
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