Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that the resistance had succeeded in “thwarting the Greater Israel project” and protecting what he described as Lebanon’s existence from plans of “extermination and displacement”.
In a recorded speech, Qassem said that the basis of any negotiations with Israel should be “mutual security”, reiterating the group’s firm rejection of any proposal to disarm Hezbollah. He described such proposals as an “Israeli prescription” that would not be accepted.
He called on the Lebanese authorities and political forces to engage in internal dialogue to organise national affairs away from external dictates or any direct negotiations, stressing Hezbollah’s readiness to cooperate on efforts to protect Lebanon’s sovereignty.
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Discussing the conflict, Qassem said developments since 1948 reflected what he described as Israeli expansionist ambitions, which he said reached their peak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of what he called the “Greater Israel” project.
