Qassem says Lebanon-Israel negotiations must be limited to 'mutual security'

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said Wednesday that the negotiations led by Lebanon with Israel since April under Washington’s auspices, which his party had previously opposed, must be limited to "mutual security." "Any plan aimed at disarmament will not pass; this is an Israeli recipe to take everything and destroy the country," he asserted.

In this context, he called for taking advantage of the Nov. 27, 2024 cease-fire agreement to implement "five points: an end to aggression by air, land and sea, the withdrawal of Israel from all Lebanese territory, the release of prisoners, the return of the inhabitants to every last centimeter of Lebanon, and reconstruction."

According to him, "the Lebanese Army is deployed exclusively south of the Litani River" within this framework. "There are no pilot zones or safe zones for Israel, no yellow, red or green zones; Israel must leave, and it will leave," he added.

A cease-fire agreement was reached following the fourth round of Israeli-Lebanese-American negotiations in Washington on June 2 and 3. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, rejected this text, calling it "unjust." It notably provides for "pilot zones" from which both the Israeli army and Hezbollah would withdraw, in parallel with the deployment of the Lebanese Army.

Qassem also called on "the Lebanese authorities and all concerned parties to reinforce the narrative of Lebanon’s claims toward the Israeli enemy, without linking them to any internal issue and without accepting any Israeli interference in our domestic affairs."

"Anything concerning the organization of our internal affairs must be completely excluded from the negotiations; this should be discussed domestically," he stressed.

He asserted that "in any negotiation, the fundamental demand must be the restoration of Lebanon’s sovereignty," saying that Israel "is the aggressor and has no right to intervene in how Lebanon manages its sovereignty or internal affairs."

In this context, he called on the president and political authorities to "assume their responsibility to unify positions, foster dialogue and a calm discussion, in order to expel the enemy and restore sovereignty."

'Lebanon would not have survived'

The Hezbollah leader went on to say that resistance in Lebanon was standing up to Israeli aggression, arguing that "all indicators since 1948 show that Israel aims for a weakened Lebanon in order to occupy and engulf it."

He recalled that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had allegedly expressed his wish for a "Greater Israel." "Some do not see, others do not hear, and still others interpret statements as if they were never made, while the facts on the ground show Israeli expansion," he said.

According to him, "this is not merely a criminal objective but a crime," referring to "a butcher acting with brutality and inhumanity, under international cover." "What more is needed to understand Israel’s intentions?" he added.

He also accused Israel of seeking "the elimination of Hezbollah militarily, culturally, politically, socially and at the popular level," which would according to him be akin to "erasing a large part of Lebanese society."

"That is their plan to facilitate Lebanon’s engulfment," he continued, adding that "the danger is existential." "We are not fighting for a parcel of land, but for an existence, a life, a land, a future and a path," he declared.

According to him, Hezbollah "broke the Israeli project." "We did not allow them to kill us, nor to control our land, nor to settle on it, nor to realize the Greater Israel project," he said. He believes it is "not easy for a small group facing a power reaching the United States to break such a project."

The Hezbollah leader also claimed that, without resistance, "Lebanon would not have survived," adding that the movement has carried out "3,185 operations in 105 days since March 2, an average of 30 operations per day."

'Great victory' and 'turning point'

Speaking about the agreement announced between Washington and Tehran to end regional tensions — which, according to Iran and the Pakistani mediator, includes the Lebanese front — he described the text as a "great victory" for Tehran and a "turning point" for Lebanon.

He urged Lebanon to "take advantage" in order to "expel Israel" from its territory. "We congratulate the Iranian people, the resistance, as well as the states and peoples of the region and the world who aspire to independence and freedom, for this great victory," the Hezbollah leader said.

He also thanked Iran for having "linked the Lebanese scene" to this agreement and for, according to him, "forcing Israel to stop its aggression." In his view, "the power of American tyranny has been broken and its colonial project against Iran has failed."

He added that "Iran’s power is now significant, with an important voice in the region and the world," believing that "the balance of power will evolve for the better, in favor of the peoples of the region."

For his part, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday that the negotiations process with Israel is "independent" from the agreement announced between Washington and Tehran to end the war in the Middle East.

Since the announcement of this agreement, which is to be signed Friday in Switzerland, Hezbollah has reduced the frequency of its rocket fire against the Israeli army. Israeli strikes have also diminished, though they have left five dead since Monday, according to Lebanese authorities.

Lebanon was drawn into the war after Hezbollah rocket attacks against Israel on March 2, which were met by Israeli airstrikes that killed more than 3,800 people and a ground offensive in the south of the country, where Israeli troops still occupy part of the territory.