Hezbollah MP asks politicians to expose US-Israeli 'blackmail' against Lebanon

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said Monday that the people will again defend their land if the state fails to shoulder its responsibilities against the Israeli occupation and violations.

"When the state abandons this (southern) region, the people will take the responsibility and will not accept the occupation," Fadlallah said, adding that the cause of south Lebanon should not be solely the cause of the Shiites and the southerners but a "national cause."

Fadlallah said the U.S. and Israel are pressuring Lebanon to take political decisions "that are not in line with its interests, history, or the sacrifices of its people," urging the Lebanese officials to be transparent with the public about the Israeli and American "blackmail".

Israel "will neither have a political nor a military foothold" in Lebanon, Fadlallah warned.

Pro-Hezbollah media had previously reported that the U.S. is "dragging Lebanon into peace negotiations" with Israel. Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri confirmed that Israel is trying to drag Lebanon into "direct negotiations" but stressed that normalization has not been discussed officially with the Lebanese state and that Lebanon would not normalize with Israel.