Qassem says 'resistance will continue' despite US and Israeli pressure
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed Friday that Hezbollah’s “resistance” will continue, despite the mounting Israeli and U.S. pressure.
“Israel is the danger and not the resistance,” Qassem said in a televised address marking one year since the assassination of nearly the entire command of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit in an Israeli airstrike that also killed around 50 civilians.
“I call on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to open a new page with the resistance,” Qassem suggested, emphasizing to Riyadh that “the resistance's arms are directed against Israel, not against Lebanon or Saudi Arabia.”
“Pressing the resistance is a pure win for Israel,” he warned the kingdom.
Addressing the Lebanese parties, including Hezbollah’s fiercest critics, Qassem said: “I call on everyone in Lebanon, even those who are very hostile to us, not to offer services to Israel whether they know it or not. Israel does not care for you.”
“We need to build our country together … and let there be agreements that help us cross this stage,” he added.
“This resistance will continue against the will of America and Israel. Israel wanted to end the resistance, but it could not and will not be able to do so and the resistance will continue,” Qassem underscored.
He added: “This resistance must remain with its head held high. If Israel wants to end it, it should know that it (Israeli) will end later God willing, due to the steadfastness of these resistance fighters.”
As for the Lebnanese government’s plans to disarm Hezbollah, Qassem warned that “the Lebanese Army is forbidden from getting any weapons that can effect Israel's aircraft or army.”
“Let us stand united to expel Israel, rebuild Lebanon, hold parliamentary elections on time, let the government prioritize reconstruction, accelerate financial and economic reform and fight corruption, and let's engage in positive dialogue over a national security strategy,” he urged.
“We view any confrontation with the Israeli project as an existential confrontation for us and for the homeland and for it we can sacrifice anything,” Qassem said.
Commenting on the government’s decisions on disarmament, Hezbollah’s leader thanked God for “saving Lebanon from the strife of August 5 through the change of course of September 5,” cautioning that “any strife in Lebanon will harm everyone.”
Qassem also said that “the government is responsible for confronting these Israeli attacks and it is capable of doing so,” referring to the latest attacks in the South and the Bekaa.
“Why doesn't the government ask the Lebanese Army about its plan for liberation if we are forced to fight Israel?” he wondered.
