Qassem: Anyone who calls for Hezbollah's disarmament serves Israeli project

L'Orient-Le Jour

3 days ago

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem stated Wednesday night that the weapons of the pro-Iranian party "are intended to resist Israel, not for use inside the country," and that any demand for his party-militia to surrender its weapons amounts to "serving the Israeli project," while the issue of disarmament remains at the center of political debate, both in Beirut and internationally.
"We will not allow Lebanon to become an appendage of Israel," Qassem declared. "You will neither defeat us nor take Lebanon hostage. The weapons we possess are intended to resist Israel, not for domestic use."
According to him, any demand for Hezbollah to hand over its weapons "serves the Israeli project, and the American envoy Tom Barrack resorts to 'threats and intimidation' in order to 'help Israel.'"
"Anyone who today calls for the handover of weapons, whether Lebanese or foreign ... serves the Israeli project," he insisted during a televised speech on the first anniversary of the death of Fuad Shukur, a party commander killed by an Israeli strike in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Claiming that "these weapons constitute a force for Lebanon," he added, "We will never hand over our weapons to Israel." "Now is not the time for discussions about armament, but for reconstruction and stopping the aggression," he continued.
According to him, "before calling for the handover of weapons, the state must fulfill two fundamental duties: halt the aggression and initiate reconstruction." He also accused Israel of "waiting for the disarmament of the resistance in order to expand and build its settlements."
"Let us raise together the slogan: Let us expel Israel through our unity, and build our homeland," Qassem urged. "We support the strengthening and construction of the state, and call on the state to silence the voices of discord. Lebanon is a country for all its children, and we salute all Arab nations and peoples, except those seeking to serve Israel's interests."
He said, "The resistance has proven to be a pillar of the state, by facilitating the election of the president and the government."
"We are moving along two parallel paths: resistance to liberate the land, with means that are directed exclusively against Israel and the political path to build the state, without favoring one to the detriment of the other," he explained. "We cannot be forced to choose between resistance and state-building: resistance is against Israel, and state-building is for the citizen."
The Hezbollah leader also recalled that "the resistance was born in reaction to the Israeli occupation and does not deny anyone their responsibility," before stating, "the army and the people are responsible, and we salute them for their actions."
'An internal matter'
Turning to the cease-fire agreement reached in November 2024 to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Qassem stressed that, "We helped the state implement this agreement, which concerns exclusively the south of the Litani. To those who link the cease-fire to disarmament, tell them it is an internal matter."
"This resistance still exists in all its political and social dimensions, proof of its strength, which is why the enemy violated the agreement," he said.
According to Qassem, "a guarantee was given when the cease-fire agreement was concluded to monitor its respect with the enemy entity, but the new envoy [Barrack] withdrew, saying there was no guarantee."
"Barrack came with threats of annexing Lebanon to Syria and expanding the aggression, but was surprised by the united national stance of the three Lebanese presidents [the head of state, the prime minister and the parliament speaker], who demanded an end to the aggression before any other discussion," he also said.
According to him, Joseph Aoun, Nawaf Salam, and Nabih Berri "want to rebuild the country and therefore cannot accept relinquishing Lebanon's strength."
A cease-fire agreement entered into force on Nov. 27 to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah, which had intensified in September 2024. The agreement included a gradual Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas in southern Lebanon so that the Lebanese Army could deploy there.
However, even after the end of the extended transitional period on Feb. 8, 2025, Israeli soldiers still occupy five so-called strategic points and continue their military operations almost daily.
"The Israeli plan is to stay on these five points to use them as a beachhead for expansion, not as negotiation points," Qassem denounced, adding, "Lebanon today faces an existential threat that endangers not just the resistance, but the whole country and all its communities."
"The agreement provided security in the northern settlements, but has security been assured in Lebanon?" he asked. "Today, we have Syria as a model, where the enemy kills, bombs, marks borders both geographical and political, and determines the country's future."
"Today, in Lebanon, our entire people face an existential threat from Israel, Daesh (Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group), and the United States under the guise of the new Middle East," he warned. "All the attacks, aggressions, assassinations, and building strikes are part of the Israeli expansion project."
George Abdallah and Gaza
In his speech, the Hezbollah chief also paid tribute "in particular to the activist Georges Abdallah, recently freed, who stood tall and proud for 41 years." The pro-Palestinian activist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah returned to Lebanon last Friday, after more than 40 years in prison in France for complicity in the assassinations of American and Israeli diplomats. "He is an essential component of this plural resistance," Qassem added.
Qassem also touched upon the Gaza Strip, devastated by nearly 22 months of war and threatened with widespread famine, according to the U.N. "What is happening in Gaza is a savage, organized crime of unprecedented brutality, broadcast live before the eyes of the whole world," Qassem denounced.
"No other crime anywhere in the world equals the extent of the atrocities committed by the Israeli enemy in the Gaza Strip, with the open support of the United States." "Where are the Arabs? Where is the world? Where are human rights?" he asked. "It is time to take concrete measures: enough statements and condemnations. The world must oppose Israel by all means, including militarily."