We are approaching the thirtieth month of the genocidal war in Lebanon and Palestine waged by the Zionist entity under US auspices and with the absolute support of an international community complicit in our killing and attempted annihilation. In Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, we are witnessing, before the eyes of the world, the expansion of the occupation in all its forms, while nations, including our own governments, collude in criminalizing the right of peoples to resist and determine their own destiny, instead of uniting to hold the occupation accountable and disarm it to overthrow and eradicate its expansionist, settler-colonial system. These practices are not limited to the Mashreq alone; rather, they constitute a despotic pattern through which the hegemonic empire attempts to criminalize resistance and political liberation movements that oppose genocide and defend the land.
During the period falsely labeled a “ceasefire”—a unilateral agreement between Palestine and Lebanon that laid the groundwork for the expansion of the occupation—the Zionist entity launched over 15,000 air, land, and sea attacks against us in Lebanon, resulting in 397 martyrs and over 1,102 wounded. Meanwhile, under the dictates of the United States, the Lebanese government’s priorities were focused on attacking the families of resistance fighters, attempting to disarm them, and trying to impose laws that would deprive the people of their resources, heritage, and personal data, thus paving the way for multinational corporations, a key instrument of the occupation.
Before the current escalation, the attacks had already resulted in the martyrdom of over 4,000 people, including 316 children and 790 women. Women and children constituted more than a quarter of the victims, 51% of whom were young people. These attacks also directly targeted 11 journalists. With 222 healthcare workers killed and 330 others injured, 158 ambulances and 57 fire trucks were bombed, and some 90,076 facilities were damaged, 23,489 of which were destroyed. Lebanese army posts, municipal buildings, and hospitals were targeted (8 hospitals were forcibly closed and 38 others were damaged). Civil defense and municipal personnel were targeted, particularly at the Civil Defense center in Baalbek (13 killed), in addition to municipal workers and buildings. The number of Lebanese detainees is estimated at 22 (11 of whom were arrested during the 2024 ground invasion). Last week, at the beginning of the current escalation, Israel killed 268 martyrs and caused additional damage. More than 500,000 people were displaced from the South, the Bekaa, and the suburbs. They urgently need shelter, food, water, and other services, in light of the state’s reluctance to spend money to hellp the people.
In parallel with the extermination of people and the destruction of their livelihoods, the systematic environmental destruction resulted in the burning of approximately 10,800 hectares (108 million square meters) due to phosphorus shells and devastating airstrikes. In addition, more than 47,000 ancient olive trees were destroyed, burned, or stolen, and 134 hectares of olive groves, 48 hectares of citrus groves, and 44 hectares of banana groves were damaged. Twenty-six public water pumping stations were destroyed, and the Al-Wazzani and Maysat stations were taken out of service, depriving 150,000 people of water. Losses in the water and irrigation sector are estimated at between $171 million and $356 million.
During that time,, the enemy destroyed 18 million square meters of forests and woodlands (oak, holm oak, etc.), and contaminated the land with various toxic and deadly pollutants b spraying herbicides and other unknown chemical and biological substances. These pollutants destroy the ecosystem and render the soil unsuitable for agriculture for many years.
As usual, popular and community initiatives have begun mobilizing to provide aid and show solidarity. While this humanitarian approach is of paramount importance, standing in stark contrast to the sectarianism that has distorted Lebanese society, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the current government’s stance not only aligns its rhetoric with the dictates of past and present colonial powers, but also complies with them without question or consideration for the national interest and the right of Lebanese citizens to repel these ongoing attacks. This is essential for preserving their lives and the lives and safety of their loved ones, and for upholding their right to live without fear of a brutal enemy that commits atrocities with impunity.
And now, the enemy is preparing to occupy Lebanon, starting with the South, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut, which bear the brunt of the daily destruction and killing. This operation comes in the context of a fierce war on Iran and its people by the Zionist enemy in alliance with the United States, whose fascist administration declares daily its intention to control the world and use excessive violence against anyone who does not adopt its leadership and racist superiority, and it warns us of a return to the worst eras of colonialism and oppression.
This war unfolds in parallel with attempts to restructure the country’s political economy in ways that deepen dependency and inequality. The economic crisis and ongoing destruction are being used to accelerate neoliberal restructuring, privatization of public resources, and the transfer of wealth into the hands of domestic elites and multinational corporations.
In its first year, the Lebanese government, which was blatantly appointed by Western embassies and emissaries, began proposing a series of laws that would plunder the country’s resources, agricultural heritage, and ecological balance for the benefit of multinational corporations responsible for the collapse of food systems worldwide. It adopted a policy of collective punishment against the people of areas targeted by the occupation, depriving them of the resources needed for recovery and reconstruction. Its subservience to colonial powers, it seems, might not end with the recent decision aimed at criminalizing resistance, indeed, criminalizing the people’s right to defend themselves in the face of the state’s institutions, including the army, failing to fulfill their duties by official order from the authorities. This criminalization is accompanied by an organized media war echoing Israeli-US propaganda against the right to self-defense and self-determination, employing an unacceptable racist, sectarian, classist, exclusionary, and divisive rhetoric.
As in previous moments of crisis, Lebanon’s working people, small farmers, displaced communities, and the urban poor bear the overwhelming cost of war, displacement, and reconstruction, while political elites and financial actors seek to reorganize the economy in ways that preserve their power, or hand it to the occupation.
In this context, and based on our firm belief in the inherent rights of peoples, including the right to self-determination and the right to resistance, and in light of external and internal attempts to force society to surrender and accept Zionist hegemony over the region, we, the popular resistance and popular action groups in Lebanon, affirm the following principles:
● The right of peoples to resist and defend their land and sovereignty, as an inherent and natural human right, is enshrined and guaranteed by international covenants and treaties, foremost among them the UN Charter and agreements related to the rights of peoples to self-determination. Our exercise of this right is an embodiment of these legal principles, which are not subject to interpretation or abrogation by anyone.
● We declare our categorical rejection of the current policies and pressures exerted by the regime, which aim to restrict or circumvent this legitimate right. Protecting national sovereignty is not achieved through retreat, but rather through adherence to historical and legal rights.
Therefore, we raise a collective cry and an urgent appeal to the people of the land, all the inhabitants of Lebanon, and all freedom-loving people worldwide, to take immediate action in support of this position by confronting the project of the government, the empire, and the occupation. We must document the violations and resist the media blackout and disinformation campaigns to which the people of the land are subjected as they resist and defend their land and their legitimate rights. Let us mobilize across the globe to reject the mechanization of genocidal systems, uniting wherever we are to dismantle the expansionist, settler-colonial system that seeks to dominate our planet. This can be achieved by organizing demonstrations and sit-ins in front of the embassies of the occupying power and complicit states to amplify the voice of popular resistance, launching widespread petition campaigns to affirm popular support for the right to defend the land, standing in solidarity with our displaced people, and confronting the imperialist onslaught by any means necessary.
Rejecting any compromise on our right to self-determination, we affirm our commitment to continuing this struggle, relying on the awareness and solidarity of the people to protect what remains of our national sovereignty and dignity. It is time for the peoples of the world to be freed from the empire and for sovereignty to be restored to all the people of the earth!
Beirut, March 9, 2026
Signatories
Agricultural Movement in Lebanon
Socio-Economic Action Collective (SEAC)
Arab Network for Food Sovereignty
Cartography of Darkness
Seed In A Box
Free Palestine Front
Tafkik
Sikka Saida
Development Movement
Deyer Men Dar
Arab Network for Food Sovereignty
Siyada Network: for a popular sovereignty over food systems and resources
Aatma
Agricultural Committee in Bakhoun Municipality – Al-Miniyeh-Diniya District
Bladi Khadra
Cultural Club of The South -AUB
People’s Movement
source: Al Akhbar