The Rock of Raouche Becomes a Political Battleground Between the Government and Hezbollah

All eyes in Beirut today, Thursday, are on the Rock of Raouche, which has become a new symbol of the political struggle between the presidency of the government and Hezbollah.

Despite Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's insistence on his decision to prohibit the use of archaeological and tourist sites for any activity without prior permission, the party called on its supporters to gather at the famous marine landmark to illuminate it with images of its former secretaries-general, Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, thus challenging the decision of the executive authority.

Lebanon's Association for the Arts, close to the party, had submitted an official request to the Governor of Beirut to hold a symbolic event around the rock without illuminating it, which Governor Marwan Abboud approved on the condition of adhering to the law.

However, the recent call for the party's supporters to illuminate the rock has reignited the debate and sparked a wide security alert, as security forces have been deployed since the morning around the area and on the rooftops of some buildings overlooking it in anticipation of any issues.

The move has caused a sharp division in Lebanon, as MPs and political figures expressed their rejection of turning one of the capital's most prominent landmarks into a party platform, while the party's supporters defended the step, considering it a tribute to their leaders who were assassinated last year in Israeli operations targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The Rock of Raouche, with its height of nearly 70 meters amidst the sea waters, is a natural and historical symbol of Beirut, making any attempt to politically or party-use it a sensitive contentious issue.

With the rising contradictory calls between prohibition and insistence, the scene remains open to the possibility of additional tension in the capital, at a time when Lebanon is suffering from severe political and economic crises.