Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem calls for Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israeli envoys in Washington, rejecting direct negotiations with the “usurping entity”.
BEIRUT: Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israeli representatives in Washington.
In a televised address, Qassem reiterated his group’s firm rejection of direct negotiations with Israel.
“We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity,” Qassem said. “We call for a historic and heroic stance by cancelling this negotiating meeting.”
The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations.
Lebanese authorities have stressed that Beirut first wants to secure a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict.
Israel has dismissed that prospect, preferring instead to focus on formal peace talks with the Lebanese state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel wants “the dismantling of Hezbollah’s weapons, and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations”.
Qassem dismissed the planned talks as “futile,” stating they require a Lebanese agreement and consensus.
Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters protested over the weekend against the planned talks.
Protesters accused Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam of being a “Zionist” for engaging with the process.
The conflict has killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced over a million since it began.
Hezbollah has been at war with Israel since March 2, drawing Lebanon into the broader Middle East war.
Israeli troops are advancing in southern Lebanon, seeking to create a “security zone”.
The Israeli army said on Monday its troops had completely surrounded the key southern town of Bint Jbeil.
Hezbollah continues to claim attacks against Israeli forces in the area.
Qassem vowed that northern Israeli localities “will not be safe, even if the Israelis were to enter any area of Lebanon”.
He also accused the Beirut government of “backstabbing” his group by declaring its military activities illegal.
“Israel and the US clearly said they want to strengthen the Lebanese army to disarm and fight Hezbollah… but the army cannot do that,” Qassem added.
