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The Lebanese army has fired tear gas at supporters of Hizbollah protesting against an Iranian flight being barred from landing in Beirut, as tensions increased between the government and the Shia militant group.
Hizbollah supporters blocked roads leading to Beirut’s airport on Friday and Saturday, but Lebanon’s government said it decided to prevent the plane from landing over fears Israel might strike the airport.
The Israeli military had accused Tehran of using civilian planes to smuggle cash to help arm the militants.
Hassan Fadlallah, a Hizbollah MP, accused the army of an “unjustified attack . . . on women and children who were protesting peacefully”. The army said on Sunday that it had been forced to intervene after protesters blocked the road and confronted military personnel, injuring 23 soldiers.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the elite Revolutionary Guards, said on Sunday that the protests by Hizbollah were “an ultimatum to the new Lebanese government, which has been following the directives from the US embassy to obstruct” the funeral of slain Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, scheduled for February 23.
The friction comes as Iran-backed Hizbollah reels from its weakened position in Lebanon’s government, with the party largely sidelined after a new administration was appointed this year. Its conflict with Israel has also greatly diminished the group’s military wing.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah is due to enter a new phase with the withdrawal of Israeli troops on Tuesday. Israel has indicated that it may retain some strategic positions inside Lebanon.
Hizbollah leader Naim Qassem insisted Israel has to withdraw from all areas in southern Lebanon by the deadline.
The Israel Defense Forces killed one woman and injured several others in the southern Lebanese village of Houla as residents were returning to the area on Sunday, according to Lebanon’s state news agency. The IDF has not commented on the incident.
After a meeting with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Hizbollah must be disarmed. Israel would prefer that the Lebanese army do that job, but no one should doubt that Israel will do what it has to do to enforce the understandings of the ceasefire.”
As protesters gathered on Friday, a convoy of UN peacekeepers heading to Beirut airport was attacked. One vehicle was set on fire and the force’s deputy commander injured, the Unifil mission in Lebanon said.
The US state department said the attack was “reportedly by a group of Hizbollah supporters”. Hizbollah and Amal, an allied Shia movement, both condemned the incident, for which dozens of people have been arrested.
Hizbollah urged the army to open an investigation into the treatment of protesters and called on the Lebanese state to protect peaceful demonstrations and allow Iranian planes to land.
The protesters gathered after the Lebanese government revoked permission for a passenger plane to fly from Tehran to Beirut on Thursday, leaving dozens of Lebanese travellers, many of whom are pilgrims, stranded.
The decision to block the flight came after Israel’s military on Wednesday accused Iran of attempting to smuggle money intended to arm Hizbollah on civilian flights into Beirut airport.
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Friday that the plane had been threatened, though it did not provide details of the threat.
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said Lebanese authorities had requested that Iranian flights to their airport be suspended until February 18, the ceasefire expiration date, due to security conditions in Beirut.
Lebanese officials have proposed bringing the passengers home on Lebanon’s national carrier via a third country, but Iran has rejected this, insisting that Iranian flights be permitted.
“You cannot cancel Iran’s flights and replace them with Lebanese flights,” Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, told Iranian media on Friday. “This matter can be resolved provided Iranian flights resume.”
