Naim Qassem, the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, on Monday, April 27 rejected Lebanon’s planned direct talks with Israel, labeling them a “grave sin” that would destabilize the nation.
“We categorically reject direct negotiations with Israel, and those in power should know that their actions will not benefit Lebanon or themselves,” Qassem said in a statement, calling on authorities to “back down from this grave sin that is putting Lebanon into a spiral of instability.”
He added that “these direct negotiations and their outcomes are as if they do not exist for us, and they do not concern us in the slightest,” asserting that “we will continue our defensive resistance for Lebanon and its people.”
In contrast, Lebanon’s president also announced that direct negotiations with Israel are aimed at ending the Israel-Hezbollah war, adding that those who dragged Lebanon into the conflict are committing “treason.” The remark was a pointed jab at the Hezbollah terrorist organization, whose leader had recently labeled the talks a “sin.”
The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. have met twice in Washington in recent weeks. These encounters mark the first meetings of their kind in decades, though the discussions have been categorically rejected by Hezbollah. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun officially stated
My goal is to bring an end to the state of war with Israel, similar to the 1949 Armistice Agreement.
