In recent months, the Lebanese political system has been in flux, with the rise of an alliance between Hezbollah and other Lebanese political parties and a strong Hezbollah presence on the Lebanese government.
The current situation was made more complicated by the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in April 2018.
In an attempt to keep Hezbollah from seizing power in Lebanon, the Syrian government intervened in Lebanon in September 2018, pushing the Lebanese Parliament to approve a resolution calling for Hezbollah to be expelled from the country.
Since then, the United States and other regional powers have been stepping up pressure on the government to expel Hezbollah, but the Lebanese parliament refused to act.
Hezbollah supporters held protests on the streets of Beirut on June 14, 2019, calling for Nasrahan’s resignation and demanding that Hezbollah leave Lebanon.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun responded to the protests with his own call for the Lebanese Army to act to remove Hezbollah from Lebanon, and the Lebanese army responded by firing on the crowds, killing two demonstrators and wounding seven.
Following Nasrah’s death, Hezbollah supporters launched a massive rally in Beirut, demanding that Nasrahi’s successor step down.
Hezbollah held a second rally on June 19, 2019.
According to the Lebanese Observatory for Human Rights, around 5,000 people rallied in Beirut to support Hezbollah’s demands for Nasarallah’s removal.
The rally in the capital, Beirut, lasted for nearly three hours and was attended by more than 2,000 Hezbollah supporters.
According the Lebanese Civil Defense, the death of Nasriah was the third in the country since April 2018, the first two of which resulted in fatalities.
On June 21, the National Coalition of the Popular Forces of Lebanon (NCF) released a statement calling for the resignation of Hezbollah Chairman Hassan Nasar.
“The Hezbollah leadership should not have been allowed to remain in power in the first place, especially after the death last month of Hassan Naserah, who is known to be a loyalist of Syria,” NCF leader Sami al-Tayyeb said.
“Hassan Nasar should resign and the leadership of Hezbollah should be replaced with a new generation of leaders,” Tayyeb added.
On July 14, the UN Security Council passed a resolution, condemning the murder of Hassan Nassar and demanding his immediate resignation.
Nasrally’s death was followed by the arrest of Lebanese Hezbollah officials in September of 2018.
However, after months of unrest, Hezbollah announced that Nasar had been released from prison.
The arrest of the former commander was seen as a significant blow to Hezbollah’s credibility.
On August 22, the US Congress passed a bill to expel all members of Hezbollah from the United Nations and remove them from the State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve the bill on August 27, but it was blocked in the House of Representatives on September 3.
The United States has said that it would not be able to expel the organization without a resolution from the UN General Assembly.
However on September 8, the State House of the Lebanese capital, Tripoli, was filled with protesters chanting for Nasratallah’s resignation.
The UN Security Committee on September 15 unanimously voted to condemn Hezbollah’s actions and said it will “not allow the group to continue to function in Lebanon”.
The UN General Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs, Antonio Guterres, called for the immediate expulsion of Hezbollah.
“I urge the Government of Lebanon to remove the Hezbollah from its State List,” he said in a statement.
“This would be the first step towards ending Hezbollah’s illegal presence in Lebanon.”
On September 22, Lebanon’s President Michel Abboud met with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Brussels.
“There is a need to remove those responsible for this assassination, as it is clear that the perpetrators are not responsible,” Abboden said.
In response, Hezbollah said it would appeal to the United Nation to investigate the assassination.
“We will never give up on the fight against Israel,” Hezbollah said.
Hezbollah spokesman Majid Jaber told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the Lebanese Hezbollah had been targeted by US attacks since the end of the war with Israel.
“In the past few days, the American attacks have reached the point where we have to respond with our forces.
The US is targeting Hezbollah because of the role it plays in the Israeli occupation of the country and its aggression in Lebanon,” Jaber said.
On Thursday, Hezbollah issued a statement in which it called on US President Donald Trump to intervene and expel the group from the international community.
“They have targeted our Hezbollah with the same aggression that has killed its founder, Hassan Nasirat,” Hezbollah stated.
It’s up to you,” Hezbollah added.”
If you want to eradicate us, expel us from the global community, expel the Zionist state from the region and expel its occupation in Lebanon.
It’s up to you,” Hezbollah added.