Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem says group will ‘not submit to Israel’ and disarm as pressure on Lebanon grows.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has said that calls for the Lebanese group’s disarmament serve only Israel, amid pressure from the United States for Beirut to take such steps.
“Those who call for submitting arms practically demand submitting them to Israel … We will not submit to Israel,” Qassem said on Wednesday in a televised address marking the first anniversary of the targeted killing by Israel of senior commander Fuad Shukr.
Hezbollah emerged weakened from a war with Israel last year that eliminated most of the group’s leadership, killed thousands of its fighters and left tens of thousands of its supporters displaced from their destroyed homes.
Sources told Reuters that the US is pushing Lebanon to issue a formal cabinet decision committing to disarm Hezbollah, saying that is needed before talks can resume on a halt to Israeli military operations in the country – which are still taking place despite a ceasefire agreed upon in November last year.
