Sheikh Qassem said Israel’s conditions for approving the deployment of the Lebanese army, including making it contingent on the findings of investigative committees, amounted to an affront to Lebanon’s national sovereignty.
He also criticized the Lebanese government for an accommodating stance toward statements by Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and war minister Israel Katz, and urged Beirut to reconsider its approach.
Sheikh Qassem said Lebanon’s acceptance of a so-called “framework agreement” under U.S. pressure was not a balanced accord but amounted to surrendering to Israeli demands and retreating from national sovereignty. He said the agreement had produced no gains for Lebanon’s national interests and was rejected by Hezbollah.
He rejected the description of the United States as a mediator, saying Washington and Israel were operating on the same side.
Sheikh Qassem also said Hezbollah had carried out a missile operation in response to the martyrdom of former Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and 15 consecutive months of Israeli violations of agreements.
He said the Israeli aggression against Lebanon had been planned in advance and would have taken place even without a response from the Resistance.
“The Resistance will never surrender and will defend the sovereignty, dignity and territorial integrity of the country with all its capabilities,” Sheikh Qassem noted.
He called on the Lebanese government to acknowledge the failure of its current approach and adopt a unified position based on national cohesion and the power of resistance.
Mojtaba Darabi - seyed mohammad kazemi
