
Lebanese Minister of Culture Mohammad Mortada at the reopening ceremony of the National Library in Beirut, February 10, 2022. (Credit: Archive photo/Anwar Amro/AFP)
The outgoing Minister of Culture, Mohammad Mortada, affiliated with Hezbollah, says “there was no real breakthrough supporting the possibility that a cease-fire would soon be reached,” in an interview with the Al-Mayadeen channel, reported by the National News Agency (NNA)
He also indicated that Hezbollah supports “the official position of the Lebanese Republic, as expressed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (head of the Amal movement, a Shiite ally of Hezbollah): either a cease-fire with the implementation of Resolution 1701 (the UN Security Council agreement, which ended the 2006 war) or the continuation of Israel’s war against Lebanon.” He assured that this war, if it were to continue, “will make the enemy suffer as much as we do,” without specifying whether “we” referred to Hezbollah or Lebanon.
Leaks from the United States?
These comments contrast with the optimism expressed Wednesday evening by outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati, suggesting that a halt, even a temporary one, to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah was a matter of “hours” or “days” away.
The Israeli press has also circulated a draft of a potential agreement, and U.S. envoys are set to hold talks with Israeli officials on Thursday to make progress towards ending Israel’s wars against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“It’s likely that the leaks spreading optimism come from the United States and are aimed at serving the Democratic Party’s electoral agenda, which has an interest in convincing its voters, especially those of Lebanese origin, that it is making strong efforts to secure a cease-fire, particularly after Donald Trump’s statement to them,” the Lebanese minister stated. The Republican candidate, in fact, sent a “peace” letter to the Lebanese-American community this week.
“Deceptive” Optimism
Mortada also drew a parallel between the cease-fire hopes raised by the Israelis and similar hopes expressed “in the early weeks of the aggression against Gaza,” which later “proved deceptive.” In November 2023, a truce agreement involving an exchange of hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7 offensive and prisoners had been reached between Israel and the Palestinian movement, but it lasted only a week. Both sides blamed each other for the failure.
“Let this enemy and its supporters understand that the resistance is ready to continue repelling the current aggression and inflicting suffering for years,” he added. This stance aligns with that of Hezbollah’s new Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, in his first speech given on Wednesday.
Asked about Israeli threats made against the outgoing Prime Minister and the Speaker of Parliament, after Hezbollah launched a drone attack on the Israeli Prime Minister’s residence, Mohammad Mortada said that both men were “determined to fulfill their national duty by politically defending Lebanon against Israeli plans” and that these “petty Israeli threats will not shake” the Prime Minister’s resolve.
Mohammad Mortada is at least the third political leader from the party to speak in 24 hours, following remarks from MP Hassan Fadlallah, who spoke a few hours before Naim Qassem on Wednesday.