Hezbollah is already casting doubt on the newly signed framework peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon, raising the prospect of derailing the historic deal just a day after it was finalized.
Naim Qassem, the leader of the Iran-backed militant group, rejected the agreement outright, describing it as “null and void” and denouncing it as a “grave blunder.”
“The framework agreement in Washington is humiliating, shameful, and a surrender of sovereignty,” Qassem said.
He also condemned the agreement’s central condition, warning: “Linking the Israeli withdrawal to the disarmament of the resistance throughout Lebanon is a very dangerous proposition that crosses all red lines.”
Announced Friday, the framework calls for the Lebanese Armed Forces to gradually take control of parts of southern Lebanon now occupied by Israel, with that process tied to the disarmament and removal of Hezbollah forces from those areas.
Qassem urged that the Washington framework be replaced by the Memorandum of Understanding reached between Iran and the United States, which calls for the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
Despite the terms of the new agreement, Qassem vowed that Hezbollah would continue fighting Israel and would not lay down its arms.
“We did not leave the battlefield in the most difficult circumstances, and we will not leave it,” he said.
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Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri — whose Amal political party has close ties to Hezbollah — warned the deal was an “incitement to civil war.”
Dozens of Hezbollah supporters flooded the streets of Beirut Friday night to protest the deal — as demonstrators blocked roads, burned tires and waved the terror group’s infamous yellow flag.
The Lebanese military vowed to maintain order in the midst of the pro-terror demonstrations.
“The army command will not allow any breach of security or threat to civil peace through actions with unpredictable consequences, road blockages, or attacks on public or private property,” the LAF said in a statement.
Israeli defense officials warned that Hezbollah may launch attacks at IDF soldiers or into Israel itself in an attempt to undermine the deal, The Times of Israel reported.
Meanwhile, one person was killed and two were wounded in an Israeli drone strike in Southern Lebanaon Saturday, according to Lebanese health officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the deal as a “historic achievement for Israel” and said that it was the first step toward peace between the two countries in a speech Saturday.
He proceeded to say that the IDF would retain full freedom of action in Lebanon, and that the deal was a major setback for Iran and Hezbollah.
“[We] are essentially telling Iran, ‘This is none of your business. You have no status here, no involvement and no role. Not you, not Hezbollah, not any terror group,’” he said.
