Aoun: I Will Not Accept a Humiliating Agreement with Israel; Betrayal Is Committed by Those Who Dragged the Country to War

SadaNews - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed on Monday that the aim of direct negotiations with Israel is to end the war, considering that those who dragged the country into it are the ones who commit "betrayal", implicitly referring to Hezbollah, which described direct negotiations as a "sin".

During his reception of a delegation from the Hasbaya region in southern Lebanon, Aoun said, according to the presidency, "My goal is to reach the end of the state of war with Israel, similar to the armistice agreement" that the two countries signed in 1949, questioning, "Was the armistice agreement a humiliation? I assure you that I will not accept a humiliating agreement."

Aoun clarified in response to accusations from Hezbollah without naming it, "Those who dragged us into war in Lebanon are now holding us accountable because we made the decision to enter negotiations under the pretext of a lack of national consensus. My question to them is: When you went to war, did you first have national consensus?", adding, "What we are doing is not betrayal, but betrayal is committed by those who lead their country to war in pursuit of external interests."

Aoun's remarks came after Hezbollah's Secretary-General Naeem Qassem launched an attack on the Lebanese authorities on Monday, accusing them of conceding to Israel and announcing the party's rejection of direct negotiations.

Qassem confirmed his party's rejection of the Lebanese authorities' direct negotiations with Israel, which he described as a "serious sin", warning that this could lead the country into a "vortex of instability".

Following the outbreak of the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah, which began on March 2, the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel held two rounds of direct talks in Washington, the first between the two countries in decades.

After the first round, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire that took effect on April 17 for ten days, before announcing an extension for three weeks after the second round of talks.

The Lebanese authorities reiterate that the goal of the negotiations held under American sponsorship is to stop the war, secure Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and facilitate the return of displaced persons to their areas, after the clashes displaced more than a million people.

Qassem stated in his remarks, "These direct negotiations and their outcomes are as if they do not exist for us, and they do not concern us in any way," adding, "We will not abandon our weapons."

Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to carry out air and artillery bombardments, particularly in southern Lebanon, and its forces are conducting extensive demolition and explosion operations in many border towns, where it has announced the establishment of a "yellow line" separating dozens of villages from the rest of Lebanese territory.

Since the start of the ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of at least 36 people, 14 of whom were killed on Sunday, according to a toll compiled by the French news agency based on data from the Ministry of Health.

According to the Ministry of Health, 2,509 people have been killed and at least 7,755 injured in Lebanon due to Israeli attacks since the start of the war on March 2.