Gathering in the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 1, 2026, at the call of Hezbollah, in tribute to the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Hezbollah strongly criticized the direct negotiations held Thursday and Friday in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli delegations, calling on Lebanese authorities to avoid what it described as "dangerous choices" in the talks and abandon what it called "the illusion of a peace agreement" with Israel.
"We call on the Lebanese authorities not to go too far in dangerous choices with the enemy because of the serious repercussions this could have on Lebanon's stability," Hezbollah said in a statement Saturday. "We also ask them to stop making free concessions... We demand that they prioritize the national interest and abandon the illusion of reaching a peace agreement with this occupying enemy."
The group also expressed its "categorical rejection of any diktat, pressure or foreign tutelage, whether American or otherwise," which it said aimed to force Lebanon onto a path that would undermine its sovereignty, independence and dignity.
The party warned against what it called attempts to recreate a deal similar to the May 17 Agreement, a U.S.-brokered accord signed between Lebanon and Israel under former President Amine Gemayel that Parliament never ratified and Lebanon later scrapped.
"As attempts are underway to create something even more dangerous than the May 17 agreement, Lebanese authorities are ignoring the lessons of history ... in a clear violation of the Lebanese Constitution and applicable laws," Hezbollah said.
During meetings in Washington on Thursday and Friday, Lebanese and Israeli officials agreed to extend the cease-fire by 45 days before its scheduled expiration on Sunday. Hezbollah described the talks as a "conspiracy."
The Lebanese delegation, however, welcomed the outcome and referred to "tangible diplomatic progress in favor of Lebanon."
"What have the Lebanese authorities' concessions since the cease-fire agreement of Nov. 27, 2024, brought to Lebanon?" Hezbollah asked. "What were the results of the decisions of Aug. 5 and Aug. 7, namely accepting civilian participation in the mechanism and launching direct negotiations?"
The party said authorities had justified that approach as the only way to secure a cease-fire and halt Israeli attacks despite what it called constitutional violations and a lack of national consensus.
"Today, after one month on this path, what has Lebanon gained?" Hezbollah said. "Instead of abandoning this approach, authorities are preparing to move further politically and on security matters, adding another concession to the enemy."
The statement added that "after each round of negotiations," Israel had intensified attacks, expanded strikes on Lebanese towns and villages, continued to kill Lebanese citizens, destroy homes, and violate Lebanese sovereignty.
The next rounds of talks will include political and security tracks. The second political session is scheduled for June, while security discussions are set to begin on May 29.
Hezbollah also called on authorities to secure a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, a "final and total" end to hostilities, the release of detainees, the "immediate and dignified" return of displaced residents to their towns and villages, and reconstruction efforts "without restrictions, conditions or obstacles."
The group also accused Israel of pursuing "settlement projects" in Lebanon aimed at depriving the country of its natural resources.
Israel is establishing a buffer zone in south Lebanon, at least 10 kilometers north of its border. It is occupying over 68 towns and villages, and has completely razed them and others to the ground.
The religious leader struck again on Sunday during another speech reported by the state-run National News Agency (NNA): “What we are experiencing today is a process that is leading us towards a catastrophe even more serious than that of May 17, because the country’s rulers are seeking to destroy Lebanon and its civil coexistence at any cost. ”
Also on Sunday, other figures from Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement, used the 43rd anniversary of the May 17, 1983 agreement to criticize the one concluded on Friday. Qassem Hashem, an MP from the Berri bloc, stated that Israel “is attempting to replicate what it failed to achieve at the time,” namely to “subjugate” Lebanon to its “hegemony.”
In a statement, the Amal Movement, chaired by the Speaker of Parliament, called on the Lebanese people to “remember all the factors that helped thwart the objectives of Israel’s wars of aggression, which, today as in the past, are clearly targeting Lebanon in terms of its model, its role, and its mission.” It also warned against “the dangers of falling into the traps of internal divisions, from which only the Israeli enemy stands to gain.”
Hezbollah MP Ihab Hamade stated that “unfortunately, the extension of a truce or cease-fire by the Lebanese authorities merely provides cover for the Israeli enemy, allowing it to continue its policy of murder, destruction, and the geographical expansion of its occupation.” Another elected representative of the Shia movement, former minister Hussein Hajj Hassan, argued that these direct negotiations had “led the authorities into a dead end.”
