Qassem denies divisions within Hezbollah, says group 'has recovered'
Hezbollah "has recovered and is now ready" to confront Israel in case of an attack on Lebanon, the group's leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a televised interview.
The interview was recorded on June 11 but only broadcast Tuesday on Lebanese pan-Arabist news channel al-Mayadeen.
Qassem said that President Joseph Aoun is being "very pressured" by the U.S. and other Arab countries to disarm Hezbollah by all means, even by force. "But he knows this would lead to strife and would not be fruitful," Qassem told journalist and director of al-Mayadeen Ghassan Bin Jeddo.
"Lebanon is strong because of Hezbollah's weapons and we will not accept that Lebanon becomes weak," Qassem said, adding that the medium and heavy arms that have been destroyed during the war with Israel are south of the Litani River, in a hint that Hezbollah has weapons in other regions across the country.
Qassem denied internal divisions within Hezbollah. "Usually, when there are wings, you can see them, right? Because they fly... I haven't seen any wings yet," he sarcastically said.
Two months of full-fledged war with Israel last fall dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah, with its longtime leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah killed in a September Israeli airstrike. Hezbollah also lost a strategic ally when Islamist-led rebels ousted longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.
"Hezbollah communicated with the Lebanese army when problems occurred in the Hermel area" on the Lebanese-Syrian border, Qassem told Bin Jeddo. "There were armed men trying to enter Lebanese territory but Hezbollah was not involved and we have no intention of fighting them so we communicated with the army."
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