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Time Limit of Few Weeks to Dissolve HTS in Syria’s Idlib

Syrian fighters attend a mock battle in anticipation of an attack by the regime on Idlib province and the surrounding countryside, during a graduation of new Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) members at a camp. AFP
Syrian fighters attend a mock battle in anticipation of an attack by the regime on Idlib province and the surrounding countryside, during a graduation of new Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) members at a camp. AFP
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Time Limit of Few Weeks to Dissolve HTS in Syria’s Idlib

Syrian fighters attend a mock battle in anticipation of an attack by the regime on Idlib province and the surrounding countryside, during a graduation of new Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) members at a camp. AFP
Syrian fighters attend a mock battle in anticipation of an attack by the regime on Idlib province and the surrounding countryside, during a graduation of new Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) members at a camp. AFP

Pressure exerted by western countries and Turkey on Russia seems to have deferred a looming offensive by the Moscow-backed Syrian regime on the province of Idlib and allowed Ankara to dissolve Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham HTS within weeks.

Turkey fears that a wide-range regime attack on Idlib, which has a population of 3 million people, could cause a new wave of exodus towards its territories.

Media reports said Friday that Ankara has sent reinforcements, especially armored vehicles, to the border with Syria and to observations points it has lately established in the north of the country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet next Monday in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi to review the situation in Idlib.

"I believe an offensive, if there will be one, will not come before several weeks," a senior Turkish official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Erdogan had met with Putin and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on September 7 to discuss Syria and prevent regime forces from attacking Idlib.

However, Erdogan and Putin failed to agree on the main strategy to solve the crisis in the province.

Ankara fiercely opposes a military option in the northwest of its neighboring country.

Meanwhile, UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura met Friday with the so-called "small group" of allied nations, including members from Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

The meeting came two days following similar talks held between the UN envoy and representatives from the there guarantor countries - Russia, Turkey and Iran.

De Mistura is expected to inform the UN Security Council next Tuesday about the results of his latest talks with parties concerned with the Syrian crisis.

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Arab World

Rising Discontent Within Hezbollah’s Support Base over Delayed War Compensation

A girl reacts near a poster of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, at the site damaged by an Israeli airstrike that killed the Hezbollah leader, after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon December 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
A girl reacts near a poster of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, at the site damaged by an Israeli airstrike that killed the Hezbollah leader, after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon December 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Rising Discontent Within Hezbollah’s Support Base over Delayed War Compensation

A girl reacts near a poster of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, at the site damaged by an Israeli airstrike that killed the Hezbollah leader, after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon December 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
A girl reacts near a poster of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, at the site damaged by an Israeli airstrike that killed the Hezbollah leader, after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon December 6, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Hezbollah has been eager to assure its popular base that it would pay compensation fees for the losses incurred by the war with Israel, but delays in payments and a climate of favoritism has gradually begun to spread among its supporters.
Although some of the party’s inner circle are keen to avoid criticism in public, others have openly expressed resentment on social media pertaining to the way compensation is being distributed compared to the losses suffered by the people of the South, the Bekaa, and the southern suburbs of Beirut.
That, however, has pushed Hezbollah’s leadership to issue a statement on Monday that compensation for restoration and reconstruction continues based on some technical and logistical details it is working with.
Since a ceasefire went into effect on November 27, Hezbollah Secretary-General, Naeem Qassem, had declared the party’s commitment to providing housing allowances for a period of one year for those whose homes were destroyed. At the same time, the party shifted the responsibility for reconstruction compensation to the Lebanese government.
Housing Allowances and Compensations Ruled by Partiality
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, S.Abdullah, who now lives in a rented house in Beirut, said he has not received “a single dollar” from Hezbollah so far in compensation for his destroyed house in Khiam and another one largely devastated in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Speaking of favoritism he said: “Only party members are receiving the funds and anyone not affiliated with Hezbollah is being ignored, with no benefit from applying on this platform or that”, noting that his parents, brother and sister have also been ignored any compensation so far.
“We are managing our rental payments. But it is unacceptable that we be dragged into war and then promised compensation, only to see that favoritism rules...There are no longer any leaders in the party. Chaos controls the management of affairs, where money is being embezzled”.
Abdullah affirms that his words reflect the sentiments of most of the people in his town and the neighboring villages, “even though some do not dare to speak openly about this issue.
“Clearly the next phase will not be like before regarding Hezbollah’s popular base. Many things have changed and those will show in the future”, Abdullah concluded.
Conditions to Repair Homes before Payments Pose Burden on Low-income Homeowners
Moreover, requirements posed by Hezbollah that houses destroyed or damaged by war be repaired first by homeowners in order to receive compensation has become a burden for many low-income individuals who have no savings.
“My husband’s income is no more than 400 dollars. How can that be enough for us to eat, pay expenses, school tuition fees for my daughter and son, and also pay for the reconstruction”, one woman told the daily.
Another woman, Samia, whose house in south Lebanon was destroyed, said the housing allowance she receives from the party is insufficient to rent a home due to the rise in rental prices.
“I used to pay $300 for rent before the war. Today rent is between $600 and $700, if a house is even available”, she told the daily.
Samia however rejected accusations of betrayal made by some of Hezbollah’s popular base against those expressing concerns. “They shouldn't lecture us, as we have always supported the cause, but it is also our right to express our suffering”, she exclaimed.

Hezbollah: Follow-up Ongoing in Restoration and Reconstruction File 

Hezbollah said in a statement on Monday that it “continues to follow up on the file of restoration and reconstruction”, noting “three categories of files being worked on: the file of total demolitions, the file of buildings that require structural inspection, and the file of restoration”.

“Work is currently underway to expand the automation team to complete as many application forms as possible” added the statement, “we are trying to finalize all files in a short time”.