Hazem Saghieh

Regardless of what we think of "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, it is difficult not to be taken aback by his remarks about war and peace. He has openly stated that he does not want Syria to fight Israel or become embroiled in conflicts because the task of rebuilding his devastated,…

It might be premature to determine the direction that the countries of the Levant are going in. This is particularly true of Syria, but it is also of Lebanon and Iraq. These countries have all been in perpetual freefall, though not in equally apparent measure, and their collapse has toppled the…

In a column about the “Axis of Resistance” for "Al Majalla," my colleague Houssam Itani asks: "Who can think of a book written by a thinker or writer associated with the Axis that is worth reading?" To the lack of such a book, we could add the lack of any idea, poem, novel, painting, play, film,…

As the Syrian army fell like a house of cards in the face of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and on the eve of the Israeli attack that destroyed this army’s military infrastructure with the press of a button, the rejectionist camp in Lebanon continued to call for a "strong" army in Lebanon(!) and to insist…

It might be useful to rearrange the achievements and fears of the Syrian earthquake. 1. “Forever” is no more. Now, we have the freedom of free people, their choices, and their pursuits. The nightmare went on for 54 of Syria's 78 years of independence. 2. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps…

The future of Hezbollah is unclear, as the divergent signals suggest that the direction it will take has yet to be decided. Secretary-General Sheikh Naeem Qassem and Hezbollah parliamentary deputies have begun to place greater emphasis on national political issues in their statements, stressing…

When it comes to the Arab Levant, it is difficult to take a sentence in a single direction or have it convey a single emotion. The immense relief at Lebanese Hezbollah being weakened is born coupled with fury at the Israeli war machine’s crimes against the people of Lebanon, particularly the…

Those awaiting an Axis of Resistance critique that addresses Hezbollah's war and the reasons for its defeat, or that merely acknowledges this defeat, will likely be disappointed. Despite the catastrophic developments that have just unfolded, "declaring victory" remains the narrative on this front…

We have been seeing a new term for a few years now, especially since Al-Aqsa Flood: "anti-Rejectionism;" it suggests that the thoughts and actions of the two opposing sides are governed by the same logic. Those who use this term are implying that their stance represents a synthesis of the two that…

Lebanon marked its 81st Independence Day two days ago. However, the “celebrations” were cool, reserved, and almost apologetic; or rather, there was no celebration. Just one week earlier, mind you, the people of Lebanon had shown, with everything they wrote and said in celebration of Fairuz’s…