The leader of "Hezbollah" Naim Qassem said today that the group will not disarm until Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon and stops its airstrikes against the country, the Associated Press reported. Qassem's statement was made in a video on the occasion of the Shiite holiday of Ashura, celebrated by thousands of Lebanese in the southern suburbs of Beirut, BTA reports.
The holiday of Ashura is dedicated to the Battle of Karbala in 680, in which the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad — Imam Hussein — was killed after refusing to swear allegiance to the Umayyad Caliphate. For Shiites, the commemoration is a symbol of resistance to tyranny and injustice.
This year's commemoration comes after a bitter war between Israel and "Hezbollah", which formally ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in late November. Israeli strikes killed much of "Hezbollah"'s top leadership, including longtime Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, and destroyed a significant portion of the group's arsenal.
Since the ceasefire, Israel has continued to occupy five strategic points in southern Lebanon and carry out near-daily airstrikes that Israeli officials say are aimed at preventing "Hezbollah" from rebuilding its capabilities. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, about 250 people have been killed in these strikes since November, and during the war itself — over 4,000 people. International and domestic pressure is growing on "Hezbollah" to give up its remaining arsenal, the AP notes.
"How can you expect us not to remain firm while the Israeli enemy continues its aggression, continues to occupy the five points, continues to enter our territories and kill?", Naim Qassem said in his video address.
"We will not participate in legitimizing the occupation in Lebanon and the region. We will not accept normalization of relations with Israel," he added.
Qassem stressed that he did not agree with the claims that "Hezbollah" does not need its missile arsenal. "I cannot agree. How could we oppose Israel when it attacks us if we did not have them? Who is stopping Israel from entering villages, killing young people, women and children in their homes, unless there is resistance with certain capabilities and at least minimal protection?“, the group's leader pointed out.
Qassem's statement comes ahead of the upcoming visit of US envoy Tom Barak to Beirut, where he will discuss the proposed plan to disarm "Hezbollah" and withdraw Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.
“Lebanon is facing a historic moment“, the US envoy wrote yesterday on the social network "Ex", emphasizing that the country has a chance to finally fulfill the promise of "One country, one people, one army". Barak concluded his post by paraphrasing the words of US President Donald Trump: "Let's make Lebanon great again".