Beirut: The Lebanese Kataeb Party on Wednesday accused Hezbollah of 'reassuring Israel' and using its weapons to intimidate the Lebanese state and its own citizens rather than confronting the country's enemies, denouncing the group's continued defiance and refusal to disarm.
According to National News Agency - Lebanon, Hezbollah's Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem appeared to reassure Israel that there is no threat facing its northern settlements and expressed his party's willingness to clear the area south of the Litani River of weapons, all to put Israel at ease. The Kataeb Party issued a strongly worded statement questioning the purpose of Hezbollah's arsenal in light of those statements.
The party posed critical questions, asking, 'What, then, is the function of these weapons?' and 'Where is the so-called 'resistance against Israel' if its priority today is to reassure it rather than confront it?' The Kataeb accused Qassem of directing his threats inward, against the Lebanese government and state institutions, which he described as 'servants of Israel.' Qassem had recently warned that if the bloodshed in southern Lebanon continues, 'all of Lebanon will bleed because of America and Israel.'
The statement from Kataeb emphasized that such inflammatory rhetoric does not target the enemy but rather the Lebanese state, its institutions, and the domestic front. The party also rebuked Qassem for questioning why the government has not set a timetable for restoring national sovereignty and tasking security forces with enforcing it. They highlighted that the cabinet's decision to confine all weapons to state authority, along with the Lebanese Army's plan, already forms a comprehensive national sovereignty framework aimed at restoring full state control over Lebanese territory.
The Kataeb argued that no country can claim genuine external sovereignty before reclaiming its internal sovereignty. They also criticized Qassem's admission that Hezbollah has 'assumed responsibility' for 42 years, calling it an acknowledgment that this path has directly caused Lebanon's loss of sovereignty, the army's weakness, and the collapse of state institutions.
The party's statement underscored that those who monopolize national decision-making and impose their authority over state institutions cannot simultaneously claim to protect or defend the state. The Kataeb accused Hezbollah of admitting the failure of its experiment.
Furthermore, the statement argued that Hezbollah's recent attacks on the international community reflect its frustration with a shifting global stance, from a period of tacit cover for the 'Axis of Resistance' and regional understandings with Israel, to an active phase of support for the Lebanese state and its legitimate institutions. The Kataeb said this change deprived Hezbollah of a bargaining card it once exploited both domestically and abroad.
The statement also condemned Hezbollah's continued calls for young Lebanese to die as martyrs, stating that the group treats their lives 'as if they have no value.' The Kataeb accused Hezbollah of resigning in advance to Israel's military superiority and noted that the group's threats seem more directed at its 'internal enemy' - the Lebanese government and state - than at Israel. The statement concluded that this is a manifestation of Iran's frustration over losing its Lebanese bargaining card, and a desperate attempt to compensate through rhetoric of intimidation and defiance.