Geagea to Nasrallah: State Institutions are Our 'Axis of Resistance'
State institutions are “our axis of resistance,” Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has stressed, in response to remarks by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
“Lebanese territory has sovereignty, and this sovereignty is exclusively for the Lebanese state. We are not concerned with any plans and confrontations except for those devised by the Lebanese state,” Geagea said in excerpts of an interview with Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that will be published in full on Wednesday.
“Lebanon's president is General Michel Aoun and we have a government led by Saad Hariri and a parliament headed by Nabih Berri. These state institutions are our 'axis of resistance' and there is nothing else called 'axis of resistance',” Geagea added.
“The Lebanese people have exclusively granted these institutions the right to practice sovereignty over Lebanese territory... Accordingly, there can be no Afghan or Iraqi fighters or any other nationality. Also there can be no military or security movements except those ordered by the state institutions in Lebanon,” the LF leader went on to say, criticizing some of Nasrallah's speeches.
He underlined that “we should not forget that there is a Lebanese Army which – on some occasions and when allowed – has proven that it possesses high capabilities and efficiency.”
Turning to Hariri's current performance, Geagea said: “Should the premier continue to address things as he is doing now, we will back him in this matter.”
“There is a possibility to implement the dissociation policy and I hope we will all be keen on its implementation,” Geagea added.
On Monday, Nasrallah announced that the “axis of resistance” in the region will once again focus its attention on the Palestinian cause, as he urged Palestinians to launch a “third intifada” against Israel.
In a speech denouncing U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Nasrallah also called on “all resistance factions in the region” and “all those who believe in resistance” to communicate and gather to “devise a plan to confront the aggression.”
