Is Kahale's incident a turning point?

Will the loud tone of speeches here and there and the verbal war lead to a conflict in the streets that might escalate into turmoil?

Some believed that the Kataeb Party, through its officials, went beyond raising the rhetoric after Kahale incident and accused it of exploiting it, especially following the party leader Deputy Sami Gemayel's statement that "the struggle from now on will not be traditional politics but rather an existential and foundational struggle."

He mentioned that after Monday, there will be a different discourse.

Is there an intention to return to arming people?

A Kataeb source said, "This is never our direction, and we do not believe in using weapons to resolve conflicts. Our fundamental disagreement with Hezbollah is because it's an armed party. However, there are peaceful and nonviolent paths that we will adopt to achieve our goals, given Hezbollah's stubbornness and its pursuit of control over the country and its affairs.

Moreover, the same source explained, "We will strive, especially from next week, with allied and friendly forces, for various options to strengthen our actions against Hezbollah's weapons, whose fate has been determined by international decisions."

"We will also seek to convince other parties of our choice and launch the liberation march in Lebanon," the source stressed.
On another note, a Lebanese Forces source pointed out, "While the expression methods might differ slightly between us and the Kataeb, the basic part is shared with them and other sovereign forces. Our escalation against Hezbollah is undoubtedly a political escalation."

"Hezbollah must realize after this incident that the Lebanese environment is hostile to its project, which has led Lebanon to emptiness and successive collapses, endangering the security of the Lebanese people," the LF source added. 

Furthermore, the source indicated, "We want to understand what happened and calm the situation. We never want to lead the country into war. This represents the stance of the Free Patriotic Movement, which considers President Michel Aoun's words to be the finest framework under which we will work."

The sources then emphasized that the "Kahale incident will not lead to a rupture between us and Hezbollah, and we will not engage in any alignment. After drawing lessons from it, we will continue to engage in dialogue with them. What happened cannot be overlooked but cannot be dwelled upon either."

However, sources from Hezbollah believed that calm served the interests of all parties in the aftermath of the incident, saying, "We are very pleased with what Bishop Abdel Sater's sermon contained, as it contributes to soothing the situation."

Additionally, Hezbollah hopes the military judiciary in its investigations will achieve the desired outcome and uphold justice.

Hezbollah party is committed to dialogue with most of Lebanon's components, especially the Christian ones. Despite some inappropriate statements – as described – by officials in the Free Patriotic Movement, we have been keen on continuing bilateral communication with them, especially in presidential matters.

"Matters are moving towards calming circumstances," Hezbollah stressed.