Lebanon PM Slams Hezbollah Chief Over 'Futile Wars' Aiding Israel

Hezbollah's chief Naim Qassem on Tuesday assailed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel, calling them a path to "humiliation" and accusing Lebanese authorities of aiding Israel.

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All the direct negotiations will bring Lebanon nothing but shame, humiliation, disappointment and successive concessions.

Qassem, speaking in a televised address, argued that "all the direct negotiations will bring Lebanon nothing but shame, humiliation, disappointment and successive concessions." He also criticized Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, stating he had become "biased and divisive" rather than an arbiter.

The leader of the Iran-backed group further alleged that Lebanese authorities "helped Israel instead of helping Lebanon's sovereignty" by pursuing negotiations that he claimed granted Israel "political gains." He questioned why the destruction in southern villages wasn't enough reason to reject dialogue with Israel.

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The head of the Iran-backed group also accused Lebanese authorities of having "helped Israel instead of helping Lebanon's sovereignty" by continuing with negotiations that he said had handed Israel "political gains".

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam swiftly responded on X, asserting that "the greatest help to Israel was provided by those who unilaterally drew Lebanon into the adventures of futile wars." Salam accused such actors of seizing state decision-making and tying Lebanon to "foreign calculations and axes," disregarding the interests of Lebanese citizens.

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The greatest help to Israel was provided by those who unilaterally drew Lebanon into the adventures of futile wars... and granted it pretexts to attack our country.

Salam underscored that "Lebanon has no sovereignty except for the sole independent decision of the state with one army which extends its authority over all its territory." He reaffirmed the state's commitment to ending the "Israeli occupation" and facilitating the "dignified and safe return of people to their towns and villages."

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Those who unilaterally take the decision of war and try to continue to seize the state's decision-making, and to tie Lebanon to foreign calculations and axes, ignoring the interests of their community and the Lebanese in general, are not fit to lecture on patriotism, not to mention on sovereignty.