Hezbollah seeks to use Syrian refugees to create crisis with Europe

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on May 13 that Lebanon should open its maritime borders so that Syrians who live in Lebanon can board boats heading to Europe. The comments have been greeted with controversy and condemnation in Israel’s northern neighbor, as it appears Hezbollah is now trying to use Syrian refugees to create a crisis with Europe, Al-Ain media in the UAE reported.

According to reports, Nasrallah made the comments after the European Union had promised $1 billion in aid for Lebanon, money that is supposed to prevent illegal migration from the country. In essence, the EU is doing what it did with Turkey: trying to pay a foreign country to keep refugees from leaving toward Europe.

European countries have done the same in North Africa with varying degrees of success. What these deals generally mean is that migrants face abuses and restrictions. In this case, it appears that Hezbollah is trying to exploit the crisis by calling for Lebanon to basically encourage Syrians to leave via a dangerous maritime route. This could then result in a crisis that would lead to more funding for the country, which Hezbollah apparently could then divert for its own needs.

There are up to two million Syrians in Lebanon, according to reports. Around 785,000 are registered with the UN as refugees; the others are apparently undocumented, which can easily lead to abuses.

Nasrallah said in a televised May 13 speech that there should be “a national decision that says: we have opened the sea… whoever wants to leave for Europe, for Cyprus, the sea is in front of you. Take a boat and board it.” The speech was on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television. “We do not propose forcing displaced Syrians to board boats and leave for Cyprus and Europe.” This seems like a thinly veiled threat.

The Hezbollah leader appears to be saying that Lebanon should encourage Syrians to leave via the sea, a dangerous precedent because it would essentially mean opening the border, rather than requiring people to leave legally. This would create chaos. Nasrallah said in his speech that this would actually help Syrians, who usually resort to being smuggled out of Lebanon by boat.

Nasrallah’s comments generate criticism

According to the Al-Ain report, the comments by Nasrallah raised eyebrows across the political spectrum in Lebanon. Politicians from the Lebanese Forces critiqued the speech. Nasrallah’s comments may be an attempt to circumvent the president of Lebanon, an LF member said.

According to this critique, Nasrallah is trying to create a crisis with Europe using refugees in order to “put pressure Western countries to lift the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, open aid coffers, and restore international legitimacy to the Syrian president.” The critics argue that Nasrallah could use his influence to work with Syria so that Syrians can return to their homeland, rather than creating a crisis at sea.

In essence, Nasrallah is once again trying to use Lebanon for Iran’s interests, since Iran backs Hezbollah and the Syrian regime. Hezbollah is trying to create a migration crisis for its own reasons. A crisis could serve Iran’s interests in several ways. If Syrians move to Europe, they won’t need to return to Syria and the Syrian regime could benefit from this.

Also, Hezbollah doesn’t want the Syrians who are in Lebanon for various reasons. Hezbollah intervened in the Syrian Civil War, sending forces to Syria in 2012. This caused many Syrians to flee as they faced suppression from their regime. This means that Hezbollah is partly responsible for the crisis in Syria – and now it is exporting more of that crisis to Lebanon.

Seth Frantzman is the author of Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machine, Artificial Intelligence and the Battle for the Future (Bombardier 2021) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.