The leader of Hezbollah called on Lebanese officials to reject the US-led peace talks scheduled with Israel on Tuesday, saying the terror group would not accept surrender and will keep retaliating against the Jewish state.
In a televised speech on the eve of the meeting, Naim Qassem demanded leaders in Lebanon cancel the talks in Washington as he vowed that the Iran-backed group would not accept any terms of a cease-fire with Israel.
“We call on the president and prime minister to back down from these negotiations that we absolutely reject,” Qassem said.
“Our choice is resistance and confrontation in the face of this enemy, and we consider these negotiations to be worthless and will only provide the enemy with free concessions,” he added.
Qassem slammed the peace talks as hypocritical given Israel’s continued airstrikes in southern Lebanon, arguing that the US has helped facilitate those attacks.
The Hezbollah chief went as far as to claim that Israel’s true aim in the war was the complete annexation of Lebanon, spreading a conspiracy theory that the Jewish state wishes to engulf the entire Middle East.
The heated response comes as Israel and Hezbollah continue to wage war despite the cease-fire in Iran, with the fighting threatening to collapse the fragile truce.
The Jewish state maintains that the strikes against Hezbollah are to ensure the safety of northern Israel, which is within striking distance of the terror group’s rocket launchers.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he supported a cease-fire as the conflict escalates and continues to affect the country’s security forces, first responders, and United Nations’ peace keeping troops.
More than 2,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since the current conflict broke out on March 2, according to health officials, who do not differentiate between civilians and terrorists.
Aoun maintains that the upcoming negotiations are “the responsibility of the Lebanese state, and no other party,” a clear reference to Hezbollah.
European leaders have also called for the fighting to end. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to engage in a cease-fire on Monday ahead of the peace talks in Washington.
With Post wires
