Qassem says Israel's withdrawal is the 'only solution'
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem announced Tuesday that “Israel will not be able to remain in southern Lebanon,” stressing that Israeli withdrawal is the only “solution.”
“The liberation of southern Lebanon is before our very eyes, and Israel will not be able to remain in southern Lebanon, even if it takes time,” said Qassem in a televised address.
“This resistance -- which stood firm alongside its fighters and its people -- managed to present a legendary story of resilience throughout this entire period of ongoing aggression, especially over the last two years,” he added.
Addressing those calling for Hezbollah’s disarmament inside and outside the country, Qassem said: “We cannot be anything other than a resistance as long as this aggression exists. Turn to the enemy and demand that they leave in order to reach a solution. As for being told, ‘Offer concessions so the enemy leaves,’ we have nothing to offer because we are the ones being aggressed upon, and there are agreements that the enemy has failed to respect.”
“The solution begins with the enemy leaving humiliated -- the Israeli enemy along with the Americans who support them with all their capacity to commit aggression against our region. This is the solution as far as we are concerned, so do not ask us about other solutions,” Qassem went on to say.
He however added that Hezbollah ready to cooperate domestically over the issue of “arms monopolization” and other files, in accordance with “the established constitutional frameworks” and away from “the dictates of American or non-American tutelage.”
