Hezbollah’s leader has urged Lebanese authorities to dismiss upcoming US-led peace negotiations with Israel, asserting that the organization will not concede and intends to continue its resistance against the Jewish state.
During a televised address on the eve of the talks, Naim Qassem urged Lebanese leadership to withdraw from the Washington discussions, emphasizing that the Iran-supported group would not agree to any ceasefire conditions with Israel.
“We urge the president and prime minister to abandon these negotiations, which we completely oppose,” Qassem declared.
“Our path is one of resistance and confrontation against this adversary. We view these talks as futile and believe they will only result in gratuitous concessions to the enemy,” he continued.
Qassem criticized the peace discussions as hypocritical, citing ongoing Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon and accusing the US of aiding those actions.
The Hezbollah leader further alleged that Israel’s ultimate goal in the conflict is to annex Lebanon entirely, propagating a conspiracy that the Jewish state intends to dominate the entire Middle East.
The heated response comes as Israel and Hezbollah continue to wage war despite the cease-fire in Iran, with the fighting threatening to collapse the fragile truce.
The Jewish state maintains that the strikes against Hezbollah are to ensure the safety of northern Israel, which is within striking distance of the terror group’s rocket launchers.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he supported a cease-fire as the conflict escalates and continues to affect the country’s security forces, first responders, and United Nations’ peace keeping troops.
More than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since the current conflict broke out on March 2, according to health officials, who do not differentiate between civilians and terrorists.
Aoun maintains that the upcoming negotiations are “the responsibility of the Lebanese state, and no other party,” a clear reference to Hezbollah.
European leaders have also called for the fighting to end. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to engage in a cease-fire on Monday ahead of the peace talks in Washington.
With Post wires
