Al-Fajr Brigades Confirm their ‘Existence’ as al-Hout Denies ‘Misquoted’ Statements

Al-Fajr Brigades snapped back at al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah MP Imad al-Hout on Monday, saying their resistance will remain no matter who renounces them.

“Our forces will remain and we are proud of our arms and resistance… We are surprised by how some people are renouncing us and our weapons,” al-Fajr brigades said in a statement.

They stressed that they are not a militia.

Their statement came after al-Hout denied to al-Joumhouria newspaper that al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah still had its armed brigades two days after he was quoted as saying that the party kept its resistance wing.

“My statements were taken out of context… I said that al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah had the honor to resist against Israel in 1982 and used its arms back then to defend Lebanon’s security,” al-Hout told the daily.

The MP unveiled on Saturday the continued presence of al-Fajr Brigades – the armed branch of the group – during a conference in Akkar, saying that al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah will only use its arms if the national security was under threat.

But al-Hout stressed on Monday that media outlets misquoted him by saying that he was speaking about current times rather than the past. This caused the “confusion.”

“We don’t have armed forces neither in public nor in secret, but al-Arqoub residents, as many Lebanese, are ready for self-defense if Israel invaded their land,” he said, adding “those residents have our moral support.”

The MP stated that the Lebanese army is the only authority tasked with defending Lebanon and the border.

Al-Hout’s statements were criticized by the March 14 General Secretariat coordinator, Fares Soaid, who voiced his support for the transition to the state, which alone has the authority to defend Lebanon.