Just war and the Lebanese resistance to Israel

ABSTRACT

The literature on Lebanese resistance to Israel is overwhelmed with work on Hezbollah, the role of religion, and its connection to Iranian influence. However, few of these studies have looked at the totality of Lebanese resistance, from its secular origins to its Islamic monopoly. Moreover, no work to date has looked at Lebanese resistance through the prism of just war theory. This article aims at addressing this gap by applying the criteria introduced by Childress regarding the justness of war. Moreover, the article examines resistance as a practice of non-state actors and its terrorist label, and at the same time, evaluates Israel’s military response to Lebanese resistance through the prism of state terrorism.

KEYWORDS:

• Lebanon
• resistance
• Hezbollah
• just war theory
• terrorism
• Israel

Acknowledgements

I am thankful to Professor Richard Jackson who provided valuable comments on an earlier draft of the paper. I am also grateful to two anonymous reviewers who helped improve the quality of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Verse 22:39 “Permission to fight back is hereby granted to the believers against whom war is waged and because they are oppressed.”

2. Verse 22:40 “[They are] those who have been evicted from their homes without right – only because they say, “Our Lord is Allah. And were it not that Allah checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned. And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.”

3. Verse 22:60 “And if one has retaliated to no greater extent then the injury he received, and is again set upon inordinately, God will help him: for God’s is one that blots out sins and forgive\s again and again…”

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Notes on contributors

Eduardo Wassim Aboultaif

Eduardo Wassim Aboultaif is a PhD candidate in the Politics Department, University of Otago, New Zealand. He has published on aspects of Middle East politics.