Barring any unforeseen developments, the new Lebanese government is set to ratify its ministerial statement, which will then go to parliament for a vote of confidence. The statement will be brief and include articles concerning the fight against terrorism targeting Lebanon, the basic needs of the people and holding presidential elections within the constitutional deadline of May 24. However, there is still one point of contention over the concept of resistance, which is seen both domestic and externally as equating to a legitimization of Hezbollah’s weapons.

This issue has gone through many phases and wordings since the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990. The first government formed following the signing of the Taif Accords, which provided cover for the Syrian guardianship over Lebanon after Oct. 13, 1990, explicitly supported the “valorous resistance.” After that, the issue was never a subject of discussion, even after the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon on April 26, 2005. Although Rafik Hariri assumed the premiership during the “era of the second independence,” the issue of resistance did not face any difficulties. However, there was a striking disparity. On May 7, 2008, an armed clash took place between the Sunni Hariri camp and individuals belonging to the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal movement.

Following the incident, the Hariri camp and its allies voiced concerns about what they considered a “resistance weapon” targeting local parties, thus losing its legitimacy. Yet, the battle led the Lebanese leaders to head to Qatar, where they signed the Doha Agreement on May 21 of that year. The agreement included a consensus on a new parliamentary law, one presidential candidate and the balances of the first government during the new presidential era, in addition to one last point: to include in the ministerial statement of the cabinet headed by Fouad Siniora on July 11, 2008, what is now known as the trilogy of “people, army and resistance.” This meant that Lebanese official authorities reiterated “the right of Lebanon — with its people, army and resistance — to liberate or retrieve Shebaa Farms, Kfarshouba Hills and the Lebanese part of the occupied Ghajar village, to defend Lebanon in the face of any offense and to hold on to its water rights through all available and legitimate means.”

Yet, many developments took place after this, mainly Hezbollah and its allies ousting the government of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri in January 2011 and the eruption of the Syrian war with the involvement of some Lebanese parties. These events led the two parties to take opposing sides. Hariri said that he would only participate in the government with Hezbollah under two conditions: the withdrawal of Hezbollah from Syria and the annulment of the governmental legitimization of the party’s weapons. For its part, Hezbollah imposed counter-conditions, among which was granting its allies more than a third of the governmental seats in order to accept any partnership with Hariri within one government. However, additional regional and external developments came to pass and the conditions fell apart, and the current government was formed.