FM blames Hezbollah for war devastation, says Lebanese want to live in peace

Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, who was named by the Lebanese Forces, has again blamed Hezbollah for more than a year of clashes with Israel, which he said caused destruction, human loss, and Israeli occupation.

"We must remember who brought about the Israeli ground invasion of south Lebanon and who caused the destruction and the human losses," Rajji said in an interview with France24.

Rajji also accused Hezbollah of violating a ceasefire agreement reached in late November. "The ceasefire says the Lebanese government should be the sole bearer of arms and this has not yet been implemented," he said.

Rajji had previously made the same remarks, blaming Hezbollah for the war and accusing the group of violating the ceasefire, as Israel continued to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory since the truce agreement took effect.

Hezbollah MP Ibrahim al-Moussawi on Thursday blasted Rajji for "his insistence to accuse Hezbollah of disavowing the ceasefire agreement" instead of "condemning" Israel. He said his remarks give the enemy a "justification for its attacks" and a "carte blanche" for continuing its crimes.

After being appointed as a foreign minister in Nawaf Salam's government, Rajji appeared in a TV talk show on MTV, where he said he was a fighter in Lebanon's civil war. The remarks drew criticism although many Lebanese parties and leaders were involved in the civil war.

- Normalization -

The Lebanese Forces and Rajji have both said that normalization and direct negotiations with Israel are not an option amid reports that the U.S. is trying to drag Lebanon into direct negotiations.

The U.S. said it will be "bringing together Lebanon and Israel for talks aimed at diplomatically resolving several outstanding issues between the two countries" - the release of Lebanese prisoners, the remaining disputed points along the Blue Line, and the remaining 5 points where Israeli forces are still deployed.

"The Lebanese state is fulfilling all its duties and working day and night to achieve a complete and immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces," Rajji said, but added that Hezbollah must also comply to the ceasefire. The ceasefire required Israeli troops to fully withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

"The Lebanese are tired and want to live in a safe and normal country. The majority of the Lebanese want a state that has a monopoly on weapons," Rajji said.

- Hezbollah popularity -

Although weakened by its last war with Israel and by the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Hezbollah still has a large popular base. Hundreds of thousands of people attended in February the funeral of Hezbollah’s former leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah despite Israeli warplanes flying at extremely low altitude over their heads.

In addition to being an armed group, Hezbollah is also a political party with lawmakers and ministers. It also provides extensive social services, including running schools, health clinics and financial institutions.

Domestic opponents criticize Hezbollah for maintaining its arms and accuse it of dominating the government. Hezbollah's image suffered after it intervened on the side of Assad in Syria’s civil war and after supporters of the group and its ally Amal harassed protesters during the 17 October Protests.

The protest triggered by planned taxes quickly expanded into condemnation of sectarian rule and corruption. Nasrallah backed the government back then and criticized the protests, saying that previous governments were to blame.

The group’s reputation had also suffered when it briefly seized a section of Beirut in May 2008 after the Lebanese government took measures against its private telecommunications network.