Hezbollah Demands Compensation and Parallel State
Hezbollah treats the Lebanese state as an authority that can be called upon to bear the financial and social burdens resulting from the war, without adhering to its political and security mandates or its decisions regarding a monopoly on weapons. Recently, the party announced a aid program called "Promise and Commitment," which includes housing and furniture, aimed at addressing the needs of those affected amidst the state's inability to recover from the scale of destruction. However, this reflects the continuation of a power model based on military strength and a network of services, giving the party the authority to determine who deserves aid and to set the conditions for it—posing a threat to the state's sovereign role. The program provides aid of up to $14,000 for homes in Beirut and the suburbs, but does not include compensation for destroyed commercial enterprises, with unclear sources of funding and the number of beneficiaries. Despite the party's criticism of the absence of an official plan to compensate those affected, this model demonstrates its capacity to continue managing the aftermath of the war. It also highlights the challenge of restoring the state's full role, especially as Hezbollah simultaneously demands that the state be strong enough to enable its war efforts and weak enough not to prevent it from making decisions—posing a threat to decision-making unity and Lebanese sovereignty.
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