Why is there a war in Lebanon today? Why is the country being destroyed yet again? Until when will it be dragged into destruction at every single turn of history? There is, for this round of destruction, just like the earlier ones, a single responsible party. It is Hezbollah. This terrorist organization and its unilateral decision to engage Israel. Before this intense increase in Israeli attacks, I had been quite vocal about the need to insulate Lebanon from what was happening in Gaza. I received a lot of criticism and disagreement from Lebanese so-called thought leaders when I stated that this was not Lebanon’s war. Today, the people are suffering and dying and these thought leaders are asking the world to help. Humanitarian help is a great act and all Lebanese should be grateful to the countries dispensing it. But it is time to stop international political and financial help until the Lebanese figure out their future. No longer should the Lebanese state act as a go-between with an armed militia. No longer should an international solution impose a broken future for the country. This should be the end of the suffering. And for this to happen, things need to be clear about what Lebanon is as a country. Lebanon needs to regain control of every aspect of its decision-making and it needs to regain its sovereignty. I can no longer stand to see yet more destruction and suffering without anyone taking responsibility. This must stop now. We cannot continue saying that we are hostages of Hezbollah and allow the militia to push the country into chaos and death. Following the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s official declaration was focused on freeing Jerusalem. Nothing about Lebanon. This confirms its will to continue dragging Lebanon into the cycle of war. This is why it is time to decide. Is Lebanon Hezbollah? Every previous mediation has given an international pass and recognition to Hezbollah. It has allowed it to format the institutions to its liking. Even in mediation, it picks and chooses what to apply and what to disregard. The conditions of any agreement only bind the other political groups, never Hezbollah. It is quite clear, Hezbollah does not recognize the international order and does not recognize the Lebanese state. This situation has contributed to all the ills we see in the country. More importantly, it has never solved anything. It just stops the bleeding for a few moments. Before this war, there was another war and another one before that. There was another financial and economic crisis and another one before that. There was an occupation and another one before that. It is time to stop international political and financial help until the Lebanese figure out their future Khaled Abou Zahr The absence of a state has been set up or carved out to suit the needs of Hezbollah, not the Lebanese. Yet, through crises and wars, it has been institutionalized through international mediation. This is the time for change. This is why any international political mediation should be rejected until Lebanon decides its fate. Why was Hezbollah allowed to get away with not applying all the conditions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701? Why has it not given up its military arsenal? We cannot allow this to continue. This time, pressure needs to be applied to Hezbollah during the negotiations. The nonexistent Lebanese state cannot act as a counterfire that will preserve Hezbollah’s status and military infrastructure. All infrastructure, from communications and airwaves to tunnels, should be controlled by the state, not a militia. Every decision on war or peace should be the decision of a state, not a militia. Hezbollah needs to deliver the weapons it holds. It should not be integrated into the army. For all these reasons and for the future of Lebanon, no international mediation should interfere in the domestic political formulation. If Hezbollah does not yield to the will of the people, then its only choice will be to take over the country. And then we will all know, along with the international community, that Lebanon is Hezbollah. It can raise its yellow flag across the nation and bear the consequences. To avoid this outcome, the people need to put maximum pressure on the existing institutions to end the status of Hezbollah. It is time for the Lebanese Armed Forces, which has been the recipient of international support, to show where it stands. If the Lebanese can save their country, the militia delivers its weapons to the army and we start working on a new political system, then and only then should international support be welcomed. Until that time, international mediation will be of no use as it will not change anything. Despite what French diplomats have put forward in past initiatives, stating that Hezbollah is a dominant political force is wrong. It is not a dominant Lebanese political force, it is a militia and nothing else. Today, pushing ahead with mediation that allows for this misconception to be continued will be the cause of the next war or catastrophic crisis. It is best for French diplomacy to stay away rather than empower Hezbollah against what little is left of Lebanon’s sovereign institutions. It is not an easy task, but this is the time for the Lebanese to unite for their country and force the army to end Hezbollah’s status. The people need to apply enough pressure so that they can impose domestically what is needed for a ceasefire and the start of the true rebuilding of the country. It begins with a single army. • Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, CEO of EurabiaMedia, and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi. Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News" point of view