Hezbollah MP Ali Fayad during the ceremony in Naqoura honoring the victims of Israeli bombings in Taybeh. Photo sent by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah.
Ali Fayad, member of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, stated that "Lebanon has never been and will never be, today or in the future, in favor of normalization with Israel," in a speech delivered on the occasion of an iftar on Saturday (breaking of the fast during Ramadan) in the town of Hanaouiieh in Sour.
Describing the Israeli state as the "ultimate enemy of Lebanon’s existence, identity, and interests," the Shiite MP emphasized that "the resistance is a broad and widespread popular movement, representing the majority of the Lebanese people, as evidenced by the results of the 2022 parliamentary elections."
Ali Fayad accused the United States of "linking" the reconstruction effort — estimated at approximately $11 billion, according to the latest World Bank figures, following the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel — to "political negotiations." He denounced "the American will to launch three diplomatic, and not military, committees" to discuss unresolved issues with the neighboring country.
A few days ago, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli officials had met with representatives of the United States, France, and Lebanon and had reached an agreement for the creation of three working groups, each responsible for addressing the following issues: the five points controlled by Israel in southern Lebanon; discussions on (the demarcation of) the Blue Line and the remaining disputed points; and finally, Lebanese prisoners held by Israel.
The Hezbollah MP finally stressed that "these American policies will produce neither stability in Lebanon nor in the region" and will in no way "achieve" their objectives, as they lack any "notion of balance and realism" and rely solely on "the logic of force, brutality, arrogance, hegemony, and sanctions."
