TEHRAN – In his first appearance after the deadly shootings in Beirut last week, Secretary General of Hezbollah Sayed Hassan Nasrallah appeared calmer than ever. He placidly advised a troublesome political party to refrain from endangering co-existence in Lebanon.

Many in Lebanon and the region have impatiently waited to see what the official stance of Hezbollah is on the recent shootings in Beirut which claimed the lives of seven people while peacefully protesting the judge in charge of investigating last year’s explosion at Beirut’s port. 

In a televised speech delivered on Monday night, Nasrallah addressed many issues, most importantly the shootings that have taken place along the sectarian lines in the al-Tayouneh neighborhood of Beirut.

The Hezbollah chief warned about the efforts by the Lebanese Forces party led by firebrand politician Samir Geagea to ignite a civil war in Lebanon in a bid to serve the interests of foreign enemies of Hezbollah, notably Israel. 

The episode began last week when a group of people took to the streets in Beirut to protest against Tarek Bitar, the judge who leads the investigation into the Beirut blast. The demonstrators suddenly came under fire while marching through a Beirut neighborhood close to the Ministry of Justice. At least seven people, including a woman, were killed and many others wounded.

Hezbollah pointed the finger at Geagea and his party, accusing them of deploying snipers on the roof of nearby buildings to shoot the mainly Shia protesters.

In the beginning, many expected Hezbollah to hit back. But the movement opted for restraint and de-escalation. Hezbollah sought to raise awareness among the Lebanese instead of going for a war with Geagea’s party, one that, if unleashed, would absolutely result in the defeat of Geagea’s faction given the massive military capabilities of Hezbollah. 

Nasrallah pointed to this fact by warning Geagea against any miscalculation. He urged the Lebanese Forces and its leader to abandon the idea of using discord in a bid to ignite a civil war in Lebanon. 

“If you want to prepare for a civil war then have not to miscalculate. Take a note that Hezbollah is made up of at least 100,00 well-trained and capable fighters who are on the lookout in case their leadership just signals for action,” Nasrallah said, indirectly addressing Geagea and those instigating him. 

He underlined the combat readiness of Hezbollah and used it to preserve peace and stability in Lebanon. “Hence, I say to LF and its leader: Don’t miscalculate, behave and take lessons from the wars you had been engaged in,” the secretary general said, according to a read-out of his speech published by al-Manar. 

Nasrallah said that the Lebanese state institution along with religious figures, especially the Christians, “must bear responsibility and stand against this criminal butcher in a bid to avoid civil war and preserve national peace.”

Moreover, he said the Lebanese Forces has been agitating against Hezbollah for a long time, trying to create a fake enemy to the Christians in Lebanon. “This party and its leader aim at presenting themselves as defenders of Christians in Lebanon in order to serve their goals related to political leadership,” Nasrallah remarked. 

He added, “In the latest years, the Lebanese Forces, and with the support of regional and international powers, has been working to create an enemy to the Christians in Lebanon and to present himself as the defender of this community against this so-called enemy, which is Hezbollah.”

The secretary general noted, “The real plan of the LF is to unleash civil war, for this scheme would lead to the displacement of the Christians and then creating a Christian canton which LF chief aims to rule.”

But Nasrallah debunked the hostile statements of the Lebanese Forces against Hezbollah, underlining that his movement has indeed defended Lebanese Christians. “For those who say that Hezbollah is the enemy of Christians, you can ask the churches which Hezbollah defended in Syria against Takfiri terrorists,” he said, adding, “When Hezbollah defended Christians in Syria and the Lebanese border towns against Daesh and Nusra terrorists, the Lebanese Forces party was offering all forms of support to the Takfiris.”

Hezbollah proved wise and vigilant. It understood the Tayouneh episode as a trap set by Israel and other enemies and successfully avoided falling into it.