Hezbollah: We Support the State's Decision to Negotiate with Israel and We Will Not Surrender Our Weapons

SadaNews - The Secretary-General of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Naeem Qassem, supported today, Friday, the decision of the Lebanese state to pursue a diplomatic path with Israel.
He simultaneously announced that Hezbollah will not agree to disarmament.

He also stated in a speech that participation with a civilian personality in the mechanism committee is an additional failure for the Lebanese government and a free concession to Israel.

He threatened that everyone "might drown within the Lebanese interior," as he put it.

Qassem believed that the government should carefully study its steps before everyone’s ship sinks, according to his words.

This came after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed that the first round of talks chaired by civilians between his country and Israel was "positive," calling for building on it "to avert the specter of a second war."

He also welcomed any country that would keep its forces in southern Lebanon after the UNIFIL mission ends, pointing out that army operations are not limited to southern Litani but cover all territories.

The Lebanese president indicated that he chose negotiations with Israel to avoid violence.

For his part, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Youssef Raji, received a delegation of ambassadors from the fifteen member states of the United Nations Security Council that is visiting Lebanon to closely assess the situation and discuss the post-UNIFIL phase.

The minister expressed his appreciation for the support of the United Nations and the Security Council for Lebanon, and for the role played by UNIFIL and the sacrifices of its soldiers over the past years, noting that discussions are currently underway to find a formula for what follows after UNIFIL's mission ends.

Raji stressed the necessity for Israel to stop its aggressions against Lebanon and to withdraw immediately and unconditionally from the territories it occupies, emphasizing that the Lebanese government is proceeding with its decision to assert its authority over all its territories and that it is the sole responsible body for defending Lebanon.

In response to questions from delegation members regarding Hezbollah's weapons, Minister Raji confirmed that the decision of the Lebanese government to monopolize weapons is not aimed at pleasing any external party, but is rather a Lebanese interest to build the state and enable it to control all of its territories.

He also emphasized the importance of giving diplomatic solutions a chance after military options have shown their inability to defend Lebanon and deter Israeli aggressions against it.

Berri Clarifies
These statements followed after former Lebanese Ambassador Simon Karam, and the Senior Director of Foreign Policy at the Israeli National Security Council, Yori Resnik, joined the "Ceasefire Monitoring Committee" meeting last Wednesday, a move welcomed by the United States and France, which are also participating in the committee with UNIFIL.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese street has been preoccupied over the past two days with the appointment of Karam to conduct direct negotiations with the Israeli side, but the Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, considered that the new negotiator's mission in the "mechanism" committee is purely technical.

Berri, who is considered an ally of Hezbollah, clarified that the mission of the civilian negotiator Simon Karam, who Aoun recently appointed to head the Lebanese delegation in the "Ceasefire Agreement Monitoring Committee" or what is known as the mechanism committee, is purely technical and not political. He stressed that he "recognizes only the technical mission."

This was the first time since 1983 that the two countries held direct negotiations chaired by civilians. After the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the two countries conducted negotiations that resulted in an agreement to cease hostilities and establish a contact committee, known as the May 17 Agreement. The Lebanese parliament approved this agreement before the executive authority later annulled it.

It is noteworthy that Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire agreement on November 27, 2024, after a year of bloody confrontation that started following Hezbollah's declaration of what it called a "support front" from southern Lebanon to aid the Gaza Strip.

But despite the agreement being in effect, Israel continues to carry out daily airstrikes on various areas in southern Lebanon while maintaining its forces in 5 elevations in the south.