Hizballah’s influence at Beirut airport is a topic of discussion. Photo: Depositphotos
Major changes are brewing in Lebanon – and they are starting from the air. The country’s authorities have launched a campaign to reduce the influence of the Shiite group Hezbollah at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, which for years has remained an important infrastructure hub for intelligence and logistics for the group. This was reported by the Arabic edition Asharq Al-Awsat.
No longer the “ears and eyes” of Hezbollah
“These people were the ears and eyes of Hizbullah in the international terminal,” a senior source told the publication.
According to sources, dozens of airport employees affiliated with Hizbullah have lost their passes for unrestricted access to airport facilities. These include cargo handlers, baggage handlers and lost and found staff – those who were able to monitor the movement of passengers, including foreign diplomats, businessmen and representatives of international organisations.
Purification will also affect the security forces
But this is only the beginning. According to the sources, the next step will be to check and remove security officers who may have acted in the interests of Hezbollah. We are talking about customs officers, officers of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) and the General Security Service.
This move appears to be part of a broader attempt by the Lebanese state to regain control of key strategic sites that have been under the unofficial control of a powerful Shiite group closely linked to Iran for years.
What it means
For Lebanon, it is a signal to the outside world of its intention to restore the sovereignty of state institutions, especially in the context of the ongoing economic and political crisis. For Hezbollah, it is a significant blow to its domestic intelligence infrastructure.
This could also be the beginning of a deeper shift in the power balance within Lebanon, especially against the backdrop of growing international pressure on the organisation.
Time will tell whether this will become a precedent for the cleansing of other institutions in Lebanon. But the fact that the process has started with such a strategic facility as the airport shows the seriousness of the intentions.
