The remarks made by MP Ibrahim al-Moussawi the day before yesterday against former Lebanese ambassador to the US Simon Karam are nothing new. Hezbollah affiliates have long targeted the legitimacy of President of the Republic through intermediaries like Karam, who was proposed by the presidency and officially tasked with leading the Lebanese side in the Mechanism Committee.

This direct attack by al-Moussawi—the second in a matter of days—follows statements made by MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan last Saturday, accusing Karam of "exposing his role in negotiations with the Zionist enemy at the expense of Lebanon’s resistant people."

Hezbollah also stated that "the Lebanese authority’s slip into the trap of appointing a civilian diplomat as head of the Lebanese delegation to the Mechanism Committee was a second mistake, no less dangerous than the decision to limit arms."

At the same time, the Committee’s meetings have been halted, following Washington's stated desire to move from the Mechanism to a tripartite committee at the ministerial level. The comments triggered the suspension even without an official announcement on either side.

Karam responded with a series of sharp stances targeting Hezbollah, accusing the party of not cooperating with the army, while the party was most angered by his declaration of readiness to visit Tel Aviv if tasked to do so. Still, Hezbollah understands the path Lebanon has been on since President Joseph Aoun announced that the time for negotiation had come.

Time is no longer in the party’s favor amidst the race to achieve a Lebanese disarmament accomplishment before the upcoming Paris conference in March. As Aoun rebuffs statements by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, the party turns to intensify its attack on Karam.

The party’s statements also make clear that it insists on the Mechanism Committee, reflecting its apprehension over Washington’s tripartite proposal. Hezbollah emphasized the purely technical nature of the Committee’s mission, insisting that its work is confined solely to southern Litani. They stated that "any extension in the improvised proposals that facilitate enemy intervention in matters unrelated to the ceasefire agreement is beyond the prescribed authority of the committee and its members and is subject to outright rejection and condemnation."

This indicates that Hezbollah remains unconvinced by the U.S. Embassy in Beirut’s statement on its “X” account, which reiterated Washington’s military framework for the committee, its full operational capacity, objectives, participants, and leadership, and even revealed the dates of its next meetings in Naqoura on March 25, April 22, and May 20.

The deferral of meetings to the end of March, amid ongoing and escalating daily Israeli aggressions, implies that Washington is buying time to establish a new understanding with the Lebanese state on negotiations with Israel. Taking the long view, the U.S. may be pushing for a more political rather than purely technical course, a development Hezbollah seems to be realizing too late.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Annahar.