Baku, TurkicWorld
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Monday that the Lebanese government must first ensure Israel complies with a Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement before talks on a national defense strategy can take place, reaffirming the Iran-backed group's refusal to disarm, TurkicWorld reports citing Asharq Al-Awsat.
Qassem said: “We Will not give up on the weapon that protects us from Israel’s aggression.”
“If this government continues in its current form, it cannot be trusted to safeguard Lebanon’s sovereignty,” he warned.
“Israel may occupy, but we will confront it to prevent it from settling and achieving its goals, and this confrontation will continue.”
Israel on Monday signaled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the Lebanese armed forces took action to disarm Hezbollah.
The announcement from the Israeli prime minister's office came a day after Benjamin Netanyahu met with US envoy Tom Barrak, who has been heavily involved in a plan that would disarm Hezbollah and withdraw Israeli forces from Lebanon.
The Israeli military has maintained a presence in southern Lebanon near the border since agreeing to a United States-backed ceasefire with Hezbollah in November.
This month, Lebanon's cabinet tasked the army with drawing up a plan to establish state control over arms by December, a challenge to Hezbollah.
