Fadlallah: Those who don’t see Israel as enemy must not be part of dialogue

Hezbollah will not hold a dialogue over its weapons with "those who do not consider Israel an enemy", the group's MP Hassan Fadlallah said Monday, as President Joseph Aoun renewed his appeal for Hezbollah to lay down its weapons.

Aoun said many times that Hezbollah's disarmament can only happen through dialogue and not by force and that Hezbollah "has shown a lot of leniency, flexibility and cooperation over the arms issue."

Hezbollah for its part is reportedly ready to hold talks with Aoun about its weapons in the context of a national defense strategy but only after Israel withdraws from south Lebanon and stops its strikes and violations.

"We will not engage in a dialogue with those who are promoting and justifying the Israeli aggressions, these people have gone beyond logic, integrity, and patriotism," Fadlallah said, accusing the United States of orchestrating a "campaign against the resistance."

Fadlallah said Hezbollah has completed 80 percent of the shelter and restoration project of areas hit by Israel in more than a year of war with Hezbollah, despite "obstruction attempts" and called on the state to shoulder its responsibilities in the reconstruction of the destroyed buildings and civil infrastructure.

Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji said last week that Lebanon has been clearly informed by U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Morgan Ortagus and others that it can't rebuild what Israel has destroyed unless Hezbollah is disarmed.

"We refuse to link the reconstruction to anything else," Fadlallah said.