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The name of the Al-Fajr Forces – the armed wing of the Islamic Group, which is a branch of the group – has returned Muslim Brotherhood In Lebanon – to emerge through operations targeting Israeli occupation army positions along the Lebanese border.
This return carries implications that highlight its importance in the context of the current scene, the aggression of the Israeli occupation army against the Gaza Strip, and its announcement that its goal is to strike the Palestinian resistance factions in the Strip, most notably the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation).
Going back a little, we find that the first appearance of the Fajr Forces was during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, but soon the name of these forces was practically absent from the Lebanese scene, especially after the liberation of southern Lebanon in 2000, except for their timid activity during the July War. /July 2006.
Activate the military wing
The name “Fajr Forces” has been in circulation again in recent years in the Lebanese media under the title “The Islamic Group’s revitalization of its military wing.”
Since the start of the process Al-Aqsa flood On October 7, southern Lebanon witnessed daily attacks on Israeli sites and settlements adjacent to the Lebanese border, and the “Fajr Forces” claimed responsibility for some of these operations.
The forces announced a missile strike targeting “Israeli enemy” positions in the occupied territories, causing direct hits.
Observers considered that the “Fajr Forces” missiles – despite their limited impact in the battle likely to break out the front between Lebanon and Israel – carried political and military messages.
Questions and problems
This return raised many questions and problems within Lebanon, which always witnesses highly sensitive divisions and alignments.
The memory of some Lebanese parties that rejected the principle of “resistance to Israel” went back to the years that preceded the Lebanese civil war, during which southern Lebanon was a launching pad for the Palestinian resistance factions and their Lebanese allies, and this was a pretext for the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the ignition of the fuse of the Lebanese civil war.
This comes in light of the continuing disagreement between the Lebanese parties over the item “legislating the work of the resistance” in successive ministerial statements, and the titles put forward by the parties opposed to Hezbollah at home, such as “the decision for peace and war” and “confining weapons in the hands of the Lebanese army.”
The recent activity of Al-Fajr forces indicates field coordination between them and… Hizb allahThis was stated by the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Group in Lebanon, Ali Abu Yassin, which means that the party allowed and facilitated the Fajr forces’ field work in southern Lebanon, where it effectively controls the lines of contact with the occupation army.
Despite the lack of a joint operations room between the party and the Dawn Forces, in addition to the political differences that worsened between the party and the Islamic Group during the Syrian revolution, what Hezbollah is doing today indicates a change in its policy towards the Sunni Islamic components in Lebanon after more than 10 years of rift.
The former Director General of Lebanese General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, who is close to Hezbollah, stated that “the Lebanese Army in the south stops non-Hezbollah militants,” which confirms the cover that the party provides for the activity of the Fajr Forces in the south.
According to observers, Hezbollah realizes that the war on Gaza today will not be the end, and that the next American-Israeli step may target the party in Lebanon, in light of the momentum and support that Washington provides to Tel Aviv.
The party also understands well the sensitivity of its internal position, as the Lebanese arena is ready to explode at any moment under multiple sectarian headlines.
Therefore, Hezbollah seeks to involve multiple Lebanese parties – especially Sunni ones – in resistance work, to block what could be portrayed as a war on the party alone in any potential war.
Important gains
On the other hand, the Islamic Group achieves many important gains with the participation of its military wing in the resistance work against the occupation. The title “resistance” constitutes a major popular and political lever for those who carry it inside Lebanon.
The vacuum experienced by the “Lebanese Sunnis” – since the decline of the Future Movement – has made the ground fertile for any investment at the Sunni popular level.
Despite this, the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Group confirms that the operations of the “Fajr Forces” in southern Lebanon do not mean that the Islamic Group is in any external axis.
As the Secretary-General of the group, Muhammad Taqoush, confirmed –In an interview with Al Jazeera NetThe group’s relationship is good with most Lebanese political parties, “but we refused to position ourselves on either side of the division. We agree with some on files and titles, so we cooperate on them, and we disagree with them on other files and titles, so we maintain our position, preserve our point of view, and adhere to it.”
Taqoush continues, “The relationship and coordination with any party, including Hezbollah, is governed by the degree to which our position is close and consistent with their positions on the issues at hand.”
In this context, Dr. Bassam Hammoud, deputy head of the group’s political bureau, confirmed this by saying, “We are not in a complete alliance with Hezbollah… We differ with them on some matters, but we are with them regarding the resistance against Israel.”
These statements reflect the group’s pragmatic policy, as it attempts to maintain sufficient room for maneuver in the face of any changes in alliances, entitlements, and internal and regional power balances.
Repercussions of the aggression on Gaza
On the other hand, American statements indicate Washington’s keenness not to expand the war on Gaza, and not to allow regional parties to intervene in the war.
US envoy Amos Hockstein stated this during his visit to Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, accompanied by US Ambassador Dorothy Shea.
However, the continuation of the Israeli massacres against the people of Gaza and the escalation of targeting of Israeli sites and settlements from southern Lebanon warns that the country may not maintain its cohesion, in light of everyone’s fear that such a war might ignite sectarian strife in Lebanon.
Lebanon and the region
Observers believe that it is likely that the re-arming of a new Lebanese party and the escalation of its military activity, even if it is limited, will push other Lebanese parties to arm as well, and all of this would deepen internal divisions and further aggravate the conditions that Lebanon is experiencing in light of a severe economic crisis and an ongoing presidential vacuum. .
Regionally, despite the modest political weight of the Islamic Group in Lebanon, this development indicates one of the possible far-reaching repercussions of the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle, and how it could affect regional dynamics.
This is related to the Islamic parties benefiting from it at the popular level after years of being subjected to great pressure at the regional level, which is something that undoubtedly raises the concerns of some Arab governments and affects their dealings with the war on Gaza.
