
Hussein Hajj Hassan: Hezbollah 'ready for any discussion on Lebanese internal issues'
This statement comes as U.S. envoy Tom Barrack is visiting Beirut for the second time in two weeks, at a time when the issue of the disarmament of the party is heightening political debate both in Lebanon and internationally. Hezbollah insists that the fate of its weapons is strictly a matter for internal dialogue, under the aegis of the president and as part of a national defense strategy, rejecting any timeline or commitment imposed from outside.
In a speech delivered in the village of Sariane (Bekaa), Hajj Hassan warned against what he called "American sabotage of regional dynamics," stating that this project required "responsible dialogue, if anyone is willing to listen to the disasters being plotted."
The U.S. envoy warned: "If Lebanon does not take action," referring to the possible persistence of Hezbollah's arms and a blockage of reforms, "the country will revert to Bilad al-Sham." This phrase, despite a subsequent correction, was widely perceived as a veiled threat of Lebanon returning to "Greater Syria."
'Lebanon has fully respected the agreement'
Returning to the cease-fire agreement that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah last November, the MP emphasized that "Lebanon has fully respected the agreement, while the Zionist enemy has respected nothing."
Coming into force on Nov. 27 under the auspices of the U.S. and France, the agreement called for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon. However, the Israeli army still occupies five positions on Lebanese territory, regularly conducts ground incursions and carries out almost daily airstrikes. On the Lebanese side, the agreement called for the progressive disarmament of Hezbollah, starting with the area south of the Litani, then across the whole territory, in accordance with U.N. Resolution 1701 — a requirement the party flatly rejects. Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the past eight months have killed more than 270 people.
Hajj Hassan also denounced the attitude of "certain" Lebanese political forces, whom he accused of "undermining the official position" of Lebanon in the face of Israel. He called for "joint national action" to "strengthen the state's position, impose a halt to the aggression, and kickstart the reconstruction" of areas devastated by war.
The Hezbollah MP also singled out "certain Arab and Islamic capitals," claiming that "their internal conflicts have given the American and Israeli enemies sources of strength," condemning a "normalization [with Israel] tantamount to total submission to the American will on political, security, and economic levels."
10 days ago, President Joseph Aoun ruled out any normalization of ties with Israel, while declaring himself in favor of a peaceful situation with the neighboring country, which still occupies part of its territory. This was the first official Lebanese reaction to comments made by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who said on June 30 that Israel was "interested" in normalization with Syria and Lebanon.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Ya Libnan
2 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Hezbollah commander Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail ‘killed' in Israeli strikes, claims IDF
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war , the Israel Defence Forces on Saturday claimed to have killed a senior Hezbollah commander – Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail – in the Bint Jbeil sector, reported PTI . The IDF even claimed that Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail was one of the Hezbollah commanders who were involved in efforts to rehabilitate in southern Lebanon. In a post on X, the IDF said, 'ELIMINATED: Ali Abd al-Qader Ismail, a senior Hezbollah commander in the Bint Jbeil sector, involved in efforts to rehabilitate the terrorist organization in southern Lebanon. The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel.' Earlier, Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz visited the home of Sheikh Muafak Tarif in Syria's Julis – home of the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel. According to a statement by the Defense Ministry, Katz said the military would work to provide medical assistance to the Druze of southern Syria. In July, a Handala boat, carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid supplies approached the Gaza Strip , reported The Times of Israel , adding, they sailed from Sicily, following a month after Israel intercepted a different vessel that had made a high-profile attempt to break the maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which operates Handala, also dispatched the earlier boat Madleen on a mission to challenge Israel's blockade on the Strip. The Times of Israel had earlier quoted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling former hostages and hostage families on Friday that the Donald Trump administration needs to 'rethink' its strategy regarding solving the war in Gaza . MINT


L'Orient-Le Jour
2 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Katz threatens Khamenei, says he could be directly targeted if new threats against Israel occur
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a warning to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a tour of the Israeli army's Ramon air base. 'If you continue to threaten Israel, our long arm will reach Tehran again, with even more force. And this time, it will be you personally,' he said, according to Haaretz. The minister added: 'Don't make threats, or you will face the consequences.' On July 16, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said that Tehran was ready to respond to any new military attack and capable of dealing 'a harder blow' to its adversaries than during last June's 12-day war. 'The fact that our nation is ready to confront the power of the United States and their lapdog, the Zionist regime [Israel,] is highly commendable,' the Iranian supreme leader said, in remarks reported by state television.


Ya Libnan
3 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Barrack piles on pressure on Lebanon over Hezbollah disarmament
The special envoy has led US discussions with Lebanese leaders over Hezbollah's disarmament over the months [Getty/file photo] US envoy Tom Barrack has continued to apply pressure on the Lebanese government to speed up the disarming of Hezbollah . The ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria warned on Sunday that the Lebanese government's credibility 'rests on its ability to match principle with practice,' in reference to pledges that Beirut has made to gain state monopoly on arms. 'The government and Hezbollah need to fully commit and act now in order to not consign the Lebanese people to the stumbling status quo,' he said. 'As long as Hezbollah retains arms, words will not suffice.' On Friday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed that negotiations with Hezbollah remain ongoing but acknowledged that they were progressing very slowly. 'There is some responsiveness to the ideas we're discussing, even things are moving at a slow pace,' he said. Hezbollah had rejected Barrack's roadmap that would see the group disarm within four months, in exchange for a halt to Israeli withdrawal from the country, as well as a cessation of strikes. The group's current leader, Naim Qassem, said: 'We are a people who do not surrender', and rejected US pressure to act on the matter. Qassem , while maintaining being open to dialogue, has continuously stressed that the group giving up its arms would be 'suicidal' amid Israel's frequent strikes on the country's south. Disarmament has been the centre of national and international negotiations with Lebanon following the November ceasefire, with Barrack making several diplomatic visits to Beirut on the matter since his appointment. One of Lebanon's most high-profile politicians, Walid Jumblatt , spoke in favour of Hezbollah's disarmament in an interview with Saudi channel Al-Arabiya . The Druze leader said that Hezbollah must 'realise that keeping its weapons and missiles serves no purpose,' stressing that it would cause problems for the country and Lebanon would 'not stabilise' as a result, in Saturday's interview. Founded in the 1980s in response to Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon, the Iran-backed group grew into a Shia Islamist party and militant group. The group has fought several conflicts against Israel, but was significantly weakened late last year after Tel Aviv launched a full-scale war in Lebanon, in parallel with the military onslaught in Gaza. Several high-profile members were killed, including its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, as well as his successor, Hashem Safieddine. More than 4,000 Lebanese were killed by Israel, who struck the country's south, Beirut and the eastern Beqaa Valley, among other locations. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was then reached in November last year, which Israel routinely continues to violate, cling that Hezbollah has not complied with UN Resolutions 1559 and 1701 which call for disarming all militias in Lebanon New Arab