Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Commenting on the extension of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad described the truce as "meaningless" in light of continued Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory.
The statement by Fayyad on Friday was the first response by Hezbollah to the three-week ceasefire extension announced on Thursday by U.S. President Donald Trump.
"The cease-fire is meaningless amid Israel’s continued escalation of hostile actions, including assassinations, shelling and gunfire, and its ongoing destructive campaign against Lebanese border villages and towns, as well as its insistence on freedom of movement under the pretext of potential threats," Fayyad said.
Since the true began on April 17, Israeli attacks have killed 11 people, as Israel continues to occupy border villages it claims that it wants to turn into a "buffer zone." Israeli troops have also continued to demolish, burn, and detonate homes in the border region of southern Lebanon.
He criticized the extension as a "cover to justify direct negotiations," adding that it forced "the Lebanese side to adhere to the cease-fire, while imposing no obligations ... on the Israeli side."
Fayyad said Hezbollah maintains the right to respond "proportionately" to Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory.
"Any cease-fire that is not accompanied by a process leading to Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory confirms the Lebanese people’s fixed and final right to resist occupation and expel it from our land, with the aim of restoring full Lebanese sovereignty," he concluded.
