Hezbollah chief says Lebanon-Israel deal ‘null and void’ as it legalizes occupation

Secretary-General of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has rejected a recent agreement reached between the Lebanese government and the Israeli regime, saying the framework deal legalizes Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.

“This agreement is null and void, and instead the provisions of the Iranian-American Memorandum of Understanding must be implemented,” Sheikh Naeim Qassem said in a statement issued on Saturday.

The Hezbollah leader said that direct negotiations in Washington between the Lebanese government and the Israeli regime that led to the agreement brokered by Washington was a form of "gratuitous concession" to the Israeli regime and "a stab in the back of the resistance" in Lebanon.

"The Lebanese government, through this agreement, has legitimized the continued presence of the Zionist occupiers in Lebanon for several years. This agreement deprives the Lebanese people of (the right of) returning to their lands," said Sheikh Qassem.

The Hezbollah chief said that linking the withdrawal of the Israeli regime from occupied Lebanese territories to the disarmament of Hezbollah, as has been stipulated in the Washington agreement, is a "dangerous scheme that turns Lebanon into a toy in the hands of the enemy".

He said that the ceasefire reached in Lebanon earlier this month based on the agreement between Iran and the US was the result of sacrifices by the Lebanese resistance and its people against the Israeli aggression over the past months.

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Lebanon

Sheikh Qassem explained that the Islamabad memorandum of understanding was intended to guarantee Lebanon’s security and sovereignty through a complete Israeli withdrawal within 60 days.

He described this provision as “a winning card in Lebanon's hands” that the government had never dreamed of possessing.

He said the Lebanese-Israeli agreement violates the sovereignty of Lebanon, adding that the Arab country must instead seek to force the Israeli regime to comply with the Iran-US agreement and its first clause, which requires the end of aggression on Lebanon.

“What a terrible mistake! What a great sin it is to hand over sovereignty to the Israeli enemy!” he declared .

Sheikh Qassem said Hezbollah will continue to fight the Israeli regime and its occupation of southern Lebanon until the aggressors are expelled from the Arab country.

The US government announced on Friday that Lebanese, Israeli and US negotiators had reached a framework for an initial agreement on peace in Lebanon.

The agreement has faced mounting criticism from politicians and countries in the region, as it requires the Lebanese government to force Hezbollah to lay down its arms if it wants the Israeli regime to withdraw its forces from areas in southern Lebanon.

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