Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Saturday evening rejected the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, calling it a humiliation and a unilateral surrender of Lebanese sovereignty. In a televised address, Qassem also rejected any link between an Israeli withdrawal and disarming Hezbollah, vowing the resistance would continue.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, in a televised address on Saturday evening, rejected the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, calling it a humiliation, a surrender of sovereignty, and a rejection of linking an Israeli withdrawal to disarming his group. The speech escalates the organization's opposition to the U.S.-mediated accord, which Qassem had already condemned as a 'terrible mistake' earlier on Saturday, according to multiple bulletins published by The Zioneer at 16:08 Jerusalem time. By 16:08, Hezbollah's deputy chief had labeled the deal a 'grave downfall and a historic mistake,' while the secretary-general himself had called it a 'grave sin' and warned that tying withdrawal to disarmament crosses red lines.
The thread now comprises six published versions from Saturday alone, all timestamped at 16:08 Jerusalem, reflecting a cascade of increasingly forceful denunciations by Qassem. The initial bulletin reported Qassem calling the deal 'humiliating' and 'a terrible mistake.' Subsequent versions added his demand to replace it with the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, his warning that it risks annexation, and his explicit rejection of the withdrawal-disarmament linkage. The current address, delivered later that evening, consolidates these positions into a single televised statement, though no concrete next steps beyond 'resistance' were announced.
As The Zioneer has previously reported, Qassem has consistently opposed any political settlement that would disarm Hezbollah or restrict its operational freedom. In a speech on Tuesday, June 23, he reaffirmed armed resistance as the sole path and demanded a full Israeli withdrawal, while dismissing U.S. guarantees. The group's formal rejection of U.S.-brokered talks was reported on June 5, following an earlier ceasefire rejection on June 4. A June 26 article noted Hezbollah's demand for immediate scrapping of the framework deal.
The televised address did not specify whether Hezbollah plans to take concrete action beyond continued rhetoric. It remains unclear whether Qassem's speech represents a coordinated escalation or a consolidation of existing opposition, and whether the group will coordinate with the Lebanese cabinet, which it remains part of, to oppose the deal through institutional channels.
6 developments
- StrongHezbollah secretary-general: Israel-Lebanon agreement 'void', calls for applying US-Iran understandings
- DevelopingHezbollah's Qassem says group committed to US-Iran understandings
- StrongHezbollah chief demands Israel leave Lebanon, accuses IDF of war crimes
- StrongHezbollah chief Qassem reaffirms armed resistance as only path, demands full Israeli withdrawal
Source and signal
- Internal intake