Hezbollah chief rejects Lebanon-Israel direct talks, outlines 5 points for solution

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem renewed Monday his “categorical rejection” of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, outlining five points for solving the current conflict.

Qassem said in a statement that his group “categorically rejects” direct negotiations with Israel, reiterating that Hezbollah will continue its “defensive resistance” and will not relinquish its weapons.

He criticized holding two rounds of direct talks between Lebanon and Israel for the first time in 43 years, which took place in Washington days ago under US sponsorship.

“In this atmosphere of sacrifice and dignity and the defeat of the enemy, the (Lebanese) authority rushed into a humiliating and unnecessary free concession, whose only justification is submission,” Qassem claimed.

“The entry point and solution is to achieve five points before anything else,” he argued.

He listed these points as “stopping the aggression on land, sea and air, Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories, the release of detainees, the return of residents to all their villages and towns, and reconstruction.”

“This authority cannot continue while it gives up Lebanon’s rights, concedes land and confronts its resistant people,” he said.

The Hezbollah chief called on the Lebanese authorities to “return to their people to unite them, so they are not an authority of a faction but of the people, based on the consensus that formed the Taif Accords, which underpins our current constitution.”

More than 2,500 people have been killed and over 1.6 million displaced by Israeli attacks across Lebanon since March 2, according to Lebanese official figures.

A 10-day ceasefire was declared between Lebanon and Israel on April 17, though Tel Aviv repeatedly violated it.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump said Lebanon and Israel agreed to extend the truce by three weeks following a second round of talks between the two sides in Washington.

Hezbollah has carried out a series of drone attacks targeting Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and northern Israel, citing Israel’s repeated violations of the truce.

*Writing by Lina Altawell in Istanbul