In Quds Day speech, Naim Qassem says normalization with Jerusalem will never be accepted, threatens to pursue ‘other alternatives’ if diplomacy fails to uphold ceasefire
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem warned Saturday that if Israel continues to carry out strikes in Lebanon, and the Lebanese government does not act to stop it, then the terror group will take matters into its own hands.
His comments came a day after Israel carried out strikes in Beirut for the first time since a November ceasefire went into effect, after two rockets were fired at northern Israel from Lebanon on Friday morning.
In a speech marking Quds Day, Qassem insisted that Hezbollah was still committed to the November 27 ceasefire agreement that ended over a year of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group.
“We fully complied and we have no presence south of the Litani, but Israel did not abide,” Qassem declared. His comments contradict the IDF’s assessment that it has struck dozens of Hezbollah fighters operating south of the Litani River since the start of the ceasefire, in violation of the deal’s terms.
“Israel is carrying [out] aggressions every day. These are not violations. They are an aggression that crossed all limits,” the Hezbollah chief added.
An Israeli official claimed earlier this month that Jerusalem was seeking to establish full diplomatic relations with Beirut, after a military-to-military meeting in the United Nations peacekeeping headquarters in Naqoura in which Israel and Lebanon agreed to open negotiations to delineate the border between the two countries.
Israel and Lebanon do not recognize one another, but signed a short-lived peace agreement in 1983. Israel in the past enjoyed deep military and economic ties with Christian factions in Lebanon.
“Israel will not get during peace time what it was not able to achieve by war,” Qassem said. “Let everyone know that this resistance (Hezbollah) is present and ready and at the same time is committed to the agreement.”
Even while insisting that Hezbollah remained committed to the deal, Qassem reiterated that if Israel did not abide by the deal, and the Lebanese government failed to impose its implementation through political means, the terror group would “have to resort to other alternatives.”
His remarks appeared to be a threat that Hezbollah might return to fighting against Israeli troops still stationed in Lebanon, at five strategic locations.
“We will not allow anyone to deprive us from using our force and capabilities to confront this enemy,” said Qassem, adding that Hezbollah “is not weak in facing the projects of America and Israel.”
“Our patience so far aims to give a chance to solutions that could reduce the pains and casualties,” he finished.
Quds Day commemorations, when Iran and its allies organize marches in support of the Palestinians and call for Israel’s annihilation, were launched in 1979 by Iran’s revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Qassem’s speech came after a rise in tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group on Friday, when two rockets were fired at northern Israel, triggering sirens in the city of Kiryat Shmona and the nearby communities of Tel Hai, Margaliot, and Misgav Am.
It was the second attack within the past week, after three rockets were fired at Metula on March 22, the first such incident since the November 27 ceasefire took effect.
As it had on March 22, Hezbollah denied having any connection to the rocket fire.
Following the attack, the IDF carried out a wave of strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in the south of the country, and later, on Friday afternoon, brought down a building it claimed was used by the terror group’s drone unit in southern Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.
It was the first time that the IDF had targeted a building in Beirut since November.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect following two months of open war aimed at ending rocket attacks from the Iran-backed group that plagued the north for nearly a year.
Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was obligated to pull its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south, while the Lebanese army deployed to control the area.
Israel, in parallel, was obligated to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, though it retains the right to respond to immediate threats.
Following an initial postponement, with US and Lebanese approval, of the deadline to withdraw, Israel pulled all its troops out of Lebanon in February, aside from five strategic posts along the border.
