By Nohad Topalian | 2024-04-03

BEIRUT -- Residents of the Lebanese border town of Rmeish on March 26 thwarted an attempt by Hizbullah to install a missile platform in their area.

A Rmeish resident, who asked that his name not be used out of fear of reprisals, told Al-Fassel that the Christian-majority town of around 7,000 "woke up on March 26 to the ringing of the church bell."

"We rushed to find out why, and were informed of the presence of two civilian vehicles with tinted windows and no license plates in the vicinity of Rmeish Public High School and the Cultural Symposium building," he said.

A townsman had sounded the alarm after approaching the vehicles and realizing that Hizbullah elements were preparing to set up a missile platform, he said.

"He engaged in a verbal altercation with them, then rushed to ring the church bell to summon the townspeople, some of whom blocked the side roads between our town and Aita al-Shaab to prevent armed elements from entering Rmeish."

Others contacted the Lebanese army, "which dispatched a patrol to the town."

Exposing civilians to danger

The incident had a profound impact on residents of the town and on Lebanese public opinion, with many denouncing Hizbullah's insistence on continuing attacks by setting up military platforms in residential neighborhoods.

The Rmeish incident is yet another example of Hizbullah taking away the self determination of peaceful civilians, exposing their lives, villages and property to the danger of Israeli retaliation, the Free Patriotic Party said.

"[Hizbullah's] thugs tried to fire rockets near Rmeish High School in Karm al-Zeitoun," Rmeish resident Charbel el-Hajj wrote on X.

"If there is no state to protect us, we know how to protect ourselves, and believe me, no one test the zeal of the sons of Rmeish."

"They [Hizbullah] are retaliating against Rmeish because it subscribes to the culture of life, love, state sovereignty and law," Lebanese Forces party official Richard Kouyoumjian, wrote on X.

"What disturbs them most is that all the people of the south are deeply entrenched in this culture, and today they are forced ... to acknowledge the absurdity of death, the domination of the militia and a war that is not their war."

The Tajdid parliamentary bloc also condemned Hizbullah's attempt to launch missiles from the vicinity of Rmeish in a post on X, calling for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.

Dragging Lebanon into war

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the townspeople of Rmeish have "refused to have the south and Lebanon dragged into a war in which the Lebanese have no stake," Rmeish mayor Milad al-Alam told Al-Fassel.

"We all reject the use of our town and its residential neighborhoods as a platform for launching missiles and exposing the lives and livelihoods of its residents to danger and displacement," he said.

This is happening in neighboring villages and towns that are subjected to bombardment and danger daily, he said, adding that Rmeish residents insist on staying in the town and "yearn to live in peace."

Hizbullah "tried to drag Rmeish into its absurd war after it did the same to Sunni border villages, which led to their destruction after it used them as a platform for its missiles," political writer Tony Boulos told Al-Fassel.

The reaction of the people of Rmeish "reflects the position of all Lebanese, who reject an Iranian war on Lebanese soil, as well as their refusal to have their villages turned into an arena for settling Iranian scores with regional powers."