BEIRUT, MAY 12: Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem announced that the terrorist group would not surrender and called for an end to the direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, in a written message to Hezbollah terrorists on Tuesday.
Qassem asserted the terror group’s commitment to remaining on the battlefield, saying Lebanon would not return to the state of affairs that existed before March 2.
Claiming that Israel and the US seek to annex Lebanon as part of “Greater Israel,” Qassem added that “no matter how great the sacrifices, they are less than the cost of surrender.”
A person riding a scooter carries a flag with an image depicting Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, as displaced people make their way to return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, at the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon.
A person riding a scooter carries a flag with an image depicting Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, as displaced people make their way to return to their homes after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, at the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. (credit: MOHAMED AZAKIR/REUTERS)
Qassem calls for end to direct negotiations
Qassem also claimed that the current direct negotiations that led to the ceasefire beginning on April 16 and which are scheduled to continue this week “only benefit Israel and involve free concessions from the Lebanese government.” He called for indirect negotiations “where the power is in the hands of the Lebanese negotiator” instead.
Expressing gratitude to Iran, Qassem stated that the US-Iran agreement, which included a ceasefire in Lebanon, was one of the strongest cards Hezbollah had in stopping the Israeli aggression.
Qassem specified that Lebanon’s authorities hold responsibility for negotiating Lebanon’s sovereign aims, and Hezbollah was willing to cooperate to reach their five goals: stopping Israeli attacks, removal of all IDF presence in Lebanon and deployment of the Lebanese Army in the southern Litani River area, freeing prisoners, returning all displaced people to their homes, and reconstruction.
Lebanon asks US to pressure Israel to halt attacks and operations
Lebanon’s president has urged the United States to put pressure on Israel to cease fire and stop home demolitions in south Lebanon, the presidency said on Monday, as the death toll from Israeli attacks rose.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in a meeting with US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, “stressed … the necessity of pressure on Israel to halt fire and military operations and the destruction and bulldozing of homes,” the presidency said.
Aoun and Issa also reviewed “developments related” to a third round of talks due in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli government representatives, the presidency said.
