Naim Qassem tries to block momentum with Israel - and raises the bar

The Lebanese news site "Al-Arabiya" reports that while Lebanon awaits the eighth round of negotiations with Israel, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Friday that the framework agreement reached under American auspices "did not achieve any gain," and claimed that the agreement reached within its framework regarding pilot zones is "an invention that fulfills Israel's goals."

Qassem, who gave a speech marking 20 years since the 2006 Second Lebanon War, said: "Israel's leaders have emphasized again and again that their forces will not withdraw from southern Lebanon," referring to remarks recently made by Defense Minister Israel Katz. He called on the authorities in Lebanon to "retract the mistake of the negotiations, recognize the failure of this track, and return to the Lebanese people." Qassem accused the Lebanese government of waiving its rights and said that "the framework agreement deprived the Lebanese authorities of their right to sue the Israeli enemy in court." According to him, signing the agreement "gives Israel everything it wants and waives sovereignty."

Qassem emphasized that Hezbollah is sticking to its guns: "We are continuing with our choices, and whoever bets on surrender is betting on an illusion." These remarks were made while Lebanese Minister of Information Paul Marcus emphasized in an interview with "Al-Arabiya" that the Lebanese state is committed to the negotiation track with Israel, and clarified the importance of continuing the process within the framework of existing understandings. The US Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, for his part, said that "everything will stop if Hezbollah hands over its weapons."

Qassem's words come against the backdrop of reports in Lebanon that Israel is waiting for a green light from the United States for a military move intended to take control of the Ali Taher ridge in the south of the country. According to the report by the newspaper "Al-Joumhouria," messages that reached the relevant parties in Beirut indicate that the IDF is at a high level of readiness for an operation in the strategic area, from which it is possible to control vast areas in the Nabatieh region. The security official claimed that Washington made it clear to the Lebanese leadership that it would not be able to prevent Israel from acting completely. However, according to the same source, the Americans requested that if an operation is carried out, it should be as limited and precise as possible, while minimizing destruction and harm to civilians, so as not to lead to the collapse of the framework of understandings between Israel and Lebanon.

Parallel to the talks taking place in Rome, tension within Lebanon is rising. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati (in text: Nawaf Salam) announced yesterday that an unidentified party managed to hack his account on the X network and delete a message he had published a day earlier, in which he sharply criticized Israel's activities in southern Lebanon. Following the discovery of the breach, Salam re-published the deleted message, as reported by the Lebanese site "An-Nashra." "I am re-publishing what I wrote yesterday, after it became clear to me that someone managed to enter my account to delete it," wrote Salam.

A few days earlier, Salam also attacked the terrorist organization operating in the country: "The greatest help to Israel was given by those who decided alone to drag Lebanon into adventures of futile 'aid' wars, provided it with excuses to attack our country, trample its sovereignty, destroy its cities and villages, kill its sons, and displace hundreds of thousands from their homes."