Latest news with #LebanonGovernment
LBCI
4 days ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Hezbollah's Qassem calls cabinet decision dangerous, vows to keep weapons
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem accused Lebanon's government of serving 'the Israeli project, knowingly or not,' warning that a recent cabinet decision aims to disarm the group during ongoing hostilities. In a speech on Friday, Qassem said the August 5 decision 'strips Lebanon of its defensive weapons during aggression and facilitates the killing of resistance fighters and their families.' He criticized advocates of 'sovereignty and exclusive state control of weapons,' questioning why they had not reacted to 'the Israeli chief of staff standing on our land congratulating his soldiers on this occupation and promising more, or to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's talk of Greater Israel.' Qassem called the government's move 'dangerous,' accusing it of violating coexistence and plunging Lebanon into a 'very deep crisis,' and cautioned against 'dragging the Lebanese army into internal strife.' He vowed Hezbollah would not surrender its weapons while the 'Israeli-American aggression' continues, pledging a 'Karbala-style battle' in response and expressing confidence in victory. 'The government bears full responsibility for any internal explosion or destruction in Lebanon,' Qassem said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hezbollah warns Lebanon 'will have no life' if state moves against it
By Maya Gebeily and Jana Choukeir BEIRUT (Reuters) -Hezbollah raised the spectre of civil war on Friday with a warning there would be "no life" in Lebanon if the government sought to confront or eliminate the Iran-backed group. The government wants to control arms in line with a U.S.-backed plan following Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah which was founded four decades ago with the backing of Tehran's Revolutionary Guards. But the group is resisting pressure to disarm, saying that cannot happen until Israel ends its strikes and occupation of a southern strip of Lebanon that had been a Hezbollah stronghold. "This is our nation together. We live in dignity together, and we build its sovereignty together - or Lebanon will have no life if you stand on the other side and try to confront us and eliminate us," its leader Naim Qassem said in a televised speech. Israel has dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in the last two years, killing many of its top brass including former leader Hassan Nasrallah and 5,000 of its fighters, and destroying much of its arsenal. The Lebanese cabinet last week tasked the army with confining weapons only to state security forces, a move that has outraged Hezbollah. Qassem accused the government of implementing an "American-Israeli order to eliminate the resistance, even if that leads to civil war and internal strife." DIALOGUE POSSIBLE However, he said Hezbollah and the Amal movement, its Shi'ite Muslim ally, had decided to delay any street protests while there was still scope for talks. "There is still room for discussion, for adjustments, and for a political resolution before the situation escalates to a confrontation no one wants," Qassem said. "But if it is imposed on us, we are ready, and we have no other choice ... At that point, there will be a protest in the street, all across Lebanon, that will reach the American embassy." The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which left parts of Lebanon in ruins, erupted in October 2023 when the group opened fire at Israeli positions along the southern border in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza war. Hezbollah and Amal still retain influence politically, appointing Shi'ite ministers to cabinet and holding the Shi'ite seats in parliament. But for the first time in years, they do not hold a "blocking third" of cabinet, enabling them to veto government decisions in the past. Hezbollah retains strong support among the Shi'ite community in Lebanon, but calls for its disarmament across the rest of society have grown. Solve the daily Crossword
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Hezbollah vows to keep arms, says Lebanon's disarmament plan serves Israel
BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group on Friday vowed not to disarm, saying last week's decision by the national government to remove the Iran-backed group's weapons by the end of the year serves Israel's interests. Naim Kassem said the government's decision to remove 'the defensive weapons of the resistance, its people and Lebanon during an aggression' facilitates the killing of 'resistance fighters and their families and evict them from their land and homes.' He said the government should have instead 'spread its authority and evicted Israel from Lebanon.' Speaking in a televised speech to mark a Shiite religious event, he added 'the government is serving the Israeli project.' Kassem added if the ongoing crisis leads to an internal conflict, the government is to blame. He noted that Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal movement, did not to ask their supporters to protest in the streets to give way for more discussions. The Amal movement was one of the main armed groups in Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war and is now a powerful political party led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. But, he said if a decision is taken to protest in the streets, protesters 'will be all over Lebanon and head to the U.S. embassy.' He did not elaborate. Hezbollah's weapons have been a major dividing point in Lebanon with some groups that are opposed to Hezbollah saying only the state should be allowed to have arms. The Lebanese government voted last week for a U.S.-backed plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year and implement a ceasefire with Israel. The small Mediterranean country has been under international pressure to get Hezbollah to lay down its arms since the 14-month war with Israel that ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November. However, the Hezbollah leader said his group will only discuss a national defense strategy over its weapons once Israel withdraws from Lebanon and stops its almost daily airstrikes that have killed scores of Hezbollah members since the war's end. 'The resistance will not hand over its weapons as the aggression continues and occupation remains,' Kassem said, adding that the group will fight a long battle if needed. The Israel-Hezbollah war weakened the Iran-backed group and left much of its military and political leadership dead. The war killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, displaced over 1 million and caused destruction that the World Bank said will cost $11 billion in reconstruction. After the war ended, Israeli forces stayed in five overlooking locations inside Lebanon. Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its military capabilities. Israel's military has said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis were displaced during the war.
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Hezbollah accuses Beirut of serving Israel with plan to disarm group, vows to fight on
BEIRUT, Aug 15 — Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Friday accused Lebanon's government of 'handing' the country to Israel by pushing for the group's disarmament, warning it would fight to keep its weapons. Qassem spoke in a televised address after meeting Iran's top security chief Ali Larijani, whose country has long backed the Lebanese militant group. Hezbollah emerged badly weakened from last year's war with Israel, and under US pressure the Lebanese government has ordered the army to devise a plan to disarm the group by the end of the year. Iran, whose so-called 'axis of resistance' includes Hezbollah, has also suffered a series of setbacks, most recently in the war with Israel that saw the United States strike its nuclear sites. 'The government is implementing an American-Israeli order to end the resistance, even if it leads to civil war and internal strife,' Qassem said. 'The resistance will not surrender its weapons while aggression continues, occupation persists, and we will fight it... if necessary to confront this American-Israeli project no matter the cost,' he said. Qassem urged the government 'not to hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor or an American tyrant with limitless greed'. He also said the government would 'bear responsibility for any internal explosion and any destruction of Lebanon', accusing it of 'leading the country to ruin'. Hezbollah and its ally Amal would not be organising any street protests at this time, he said, while threatening to do so in future. Before the war with Israel, Hezbollah was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military. It long maintained it had to keep its arsenal in order to defend Lebanon from attack, but critics accused it of using its weapons for political leverage. Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Larijani was in Beirut this week, where he met Qassem as well as with President Joseph Aoun. Iran has expressed its opposition to the government's disarmament plan, and has vowed to continue to provide support. Aoun told Larijani that he rejected any interference in the country's internal affairs, branding as 'unconstructive' Iran's statements on plans to disarm Hezbollah. — AFP
The Independent
07-08-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Lebanese Shiite ministers walk out of Cabinet meeting over Hezbollah disarmament plan
Four Shiite members of Lebanon's Cabinet withdrew Thursday from a government meeting to protest a proposed plan to disarm the Shiite militant group and political party Hezbollah. They included members of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc and the allied Amal party, as well as independent Shiite parliamentarian Fadi Makki. The meeting was adjourned after their exit. Tensions have been rising in Lebanon amid increased domestic and international pressure for Hezbollah to give up its remaining arsenal after a bruising war with Israel, while the group has doubled down on its refusal to disarm. Makki said on the social media platform X that he had 'tried to work on bridging the gaps and bringing viewpoints closer between all parties, but I didn't succeed.' He said he had decided to withdraw from the meeting after the other Shiite ministers left. 'I couldn't bear the responsibility of making such a significant decision in the absence of a key component from the discussion," he said. The plan to disarm Hezbollah The Lebanese government asked the national army on Tuesday to prepare a plan in which only state institutions in the small nation will have weapons by the end of the year. The discussions were set to continue Thursday. After Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Hezbollah accused the government of caving to U.S. and Israeli pressure and said it would 'treat this decision as if it does not exist.' Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss giving up its remaining arsenal until Israel withdraws from five hills it is occupying inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes. The strikes have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members, since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its military capabilities and said it is protecting its border. Since the ceasefire, Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for one attack fired across the border. The ceasefire agreement mandated that both Hezbollah and Israel should withdraw from southern Lebanon but left vague how Hezbollah's weapons and military facilities farther north of the border should be treated, saying Lebanese authorities should dismantle unauthorized facilities starting with the area south of the Litani River. Hezbollah maintains the deal only covers the area south of the Litani, while Israel and the U.S. say it mandates disarmament of the group throughout Lebanon. International efforts to ensure peace Andrea Tenenti, a spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, said that peacekeepers along with soldiers from the Lebanese army recently found a 'vast network of fortified tunnels' in different areas of southern Lebanon. They include 'several bunkers, artillery pieces, multiple rocket launchers, hundreds of shells and rockets, anti-tank mines, and other explosive devices," he said. A member of the U.S. Congress said that Washington will push Israel to withdraw from all of southern Lebanon if the Lebanese army asserts full control over the country. 'We will push hard to make sure that there is — and this is something that I will work with the Israelis on — a complete withdrawal in return for the Lebanese Armed Forces showing its ability to secure all Lebanon,' California Republican U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa said, after meeting with President Joseph Aoun in Beirut. He did not specify whether the U.S. would ask Israel to begin withdrawing its forces from the territory it is occupying in southern Lebanon before or after Hezbollah gives up its arsenal. Issa, who is of Lebanese origin, said the U.S. must "help all the neighbors around understand that it is the exclusive right of the Lebanese Armed Forces to make decisions.' 'If there's something that goes wrong, the Lebanese Armed Forces will be asked to to be responsible,' he said.
