Hezbollah rejects Lebanese framework deal with Israel
Shafaq News- Beirut
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Friday refused the framework agreement and Lebanese direct negotiations with Israel, saying the group would accept only the November 27, 2024 agreement reached under UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Criticizing the Lebanese authorities' direct talks with Israel, Qassem said the process had failed to produce either a ceasefire or an Israeli withdrawal.
He called instead for the agreement to be cancelled before going back to indirect negotiations. “Washington was not neutral between Lebanon and Israel,” he said, urging Beirut to seek another intermediary.
Qassem described the current situation as “Israeli aggression,” rather than a mutual war, adding that Israel had continued its attacks despite Hezbollah’s adherence to the agreement.
On Hezbollah’s weapons, he ruled out calls for the group to surrender its arms, arguing that Israel would continue to use the issue as a justification for its military actions.
The group also opposes proposed “pilot areas” and a “verification committee,” and expressed hard refusal of any arrangements resulting from them.
Addressing the broader regional situation, Qassem described it as a “historic restructuring” of the balance of power. He accused the United States of seeking to expand its influence and create conditions for a “Greater Israel,” while saying Iran and resistance groups were confronting what he called projects of fragmentation, occupation and foreign control.
He also claimed that US and Israeli military action had failed to achieve its objectives despite heavy losses in Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen and Iraq.
Earlier on Thursday, Israel told the United States that a pilot program in southern Lebanon has failed and expressed dissatisfaction with the Lebanese Army’s efforts to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure, Israeli outlet Walla reported, citing Israeli security sources.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the cumulative toll from Israeli attacks between March 2 and August 27 reached 4,351 killed and 12,316 wounded, including women and children.
