Qassem vows to back Syria, says ceasefire agreement is for south Litani
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said Thursday that his Iranian-backed group, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, would be by Damascus’ side as Islamist-led rebels press a sweeping offensive.
In a televised address, Qassem denounced "terrorist groups" who "want to bring down the regime in Syria" and said their offensive is “sponsored by America and Israel.”
"They will not be able to achieve their goals despite what they have done in past days, and we as Hezbollah will be by Syria’s side in thwarting the goals of this aggression as much as we can," Qassem added.
“We are before a very dangerous Israeli scheme for the Middle East,” he warned.
As for the nascent ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, Qassem said: “We agreed to an agreement to stop the aggression, which is a mechanism for implementing Resolution 1701. This is not a new agreement and it does not stand on its own.”
“The agreement we agreed to is an agreement for the area south of the Litani River, and Resolution 1701 stipulates the withdrawal of Israel and prevents the presence of militants south of the Litani,” Qassem added.
He, however, hinted that there would be understandings between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army regarding the other clauses of the agreement.
“Israel has nothing to do with our relationship with the Lebanese arena and the Lebanese Army,” Qassem stressed.
The introduction of the ceasefire agreement reached between Lebanon and Israel on November 27 mentions that Resolution 1701 calls for “full implementation of its predecessor UNSC resolutions, including ‘disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon.’”
The agreement also says that “starting with the Southern Litani Area,” the Lebanese Armed Forces will “dismantle all existing unauthorized facilities involved in the production of arms and related materiel.” It adds that also “starting with the Southern Litani Area,” the Lebanese Armed Forces will “dismantle all infrastructure and military positions, and confiscate all unauthorized arms.”
“The resistance is giving a chance for the success of the ceasefire agreement,” Qassem said.
“There are more than 60 Israeli violations of the agreement and we consider that the state is responsible for following up on the violations with the committee supervising the agreement,” he added.
“Our resistance shall remain and continue and it will become more glorious,” Qassem went on to say.
As for the current post-war period, Qassem said Hezbollah “will be hand in hand with the Lebanese state in reconstruction,” calling on “friendly countries, Arab brothers and expatriates” to participate in the rebuilding process.
Source: Naharnet
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