Hezbollah MP Ali Fayad. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT – Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad pointed out on Friday that his party is "open to any internal dialogue process launched by the Lebanese state", notambly on the matter of its weapons, thanking the State for its "understanding of the importance of dialogue."
Fayyad delivered his comments during the commemorative ceremony held by Hezbollah for one of its members killed, Hassan Ali Rimal, at the al-Zahraa -Solha Husseiniya in Bir Hassan, a neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs.
"Hezbollah has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to international resolution 1701 and the cease-fire, despite Israel's continued hostilities and occupation of several border sites," Fayyad said, adding that the party is "open to any internal dialogue process launched by the Lebanese state to address outstanding issues."
Lebanese authorities are currently discussing how to disarm Hezbollah, a matter that gained momentum after the war between Hezbollah and Israel which spanned from Oct. 8, 2023, to Nov. 27, 2024. Hezbollah emerged significantly weakened after many of its senior leaders and thousands of its fighters were killed, and much of its rocket arsenal destroyed.
These discussions had already While Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has promised that this issue will soon be on the table of the Council of Ministers, the various parties are divided on the way forward. The Lebanese Forces and their allies are pushing for a clear disarmament timetable, for which Samir Geagea has set an ultimatum of “six months”, while Hezbollah itself advocates dialogue. On Thursday, President Aoun praised Hezbollah’s "flexibility" on the issue of handing over their weapons and cited a willingness to cooperate under a specific timetable.
In this regard, Fayyad commended the "deep understanding of the importance of dialogue in protecting internal stability," by the authorities, criticizing the "American positions and policies in service of Israel" which threatened Lebanon, notably after the visit of the U.S. envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus to Lebanon.
“Pressuring the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah, as they put it, besieging Lebanon financially, withholding aid, hindering the reconstruction process, fabricating lies about the role of its ports – the latest being the targeting the port of Beirut in order to subject it to U.S. security oversight – in addition to covering up the assassinations carried out by the Israeli enemy, is a direct threat to Lebanon's stability,” he said.
On Tuesday evening, the Al-Arabiya channel, claimed that units of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were sending “weapons, equipment, and funds” to Hezbollah via Beirut port, an accusation Hezbollah categorically denied.
"What is infuriating and provocative is that the positions of some political and media entities and personalities inside Lebanon align with these positions, transcending the rules of political rivalry and legitimate disagreement to a state of open hostility and targeting," he accused, in reference to the Lebanese Forces and their allies.