Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem claimed on Tuesday that direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel would bring “nothing but shame, humiliation, and successive compromises” for Lebanon, as the talks in Rome continue .
In a televised address, Qassem said President Joseph Aoun “has not acted as an arbiter, nor as a unifying figure, but has become biased and divisive, which is incompatible with his role and with Lebanon’s strength.”
This comes a day after Qassem and other party officials intensified their attacks on Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the Lebanese government over the direct negotiations taking place between Lebanon and Israel.
They portray diplomacy as humiliation and accuse its supporters of betraying Lebanon.
But Salam has responded with a truth that Hezbollah has spent years trying to conceal: the greatest assistance Israel received did not come from Lebanese negotiators. It came from the armed organization that unilaterally seized Lebanon’s authority to decide between war and peace, opened fire on Israel, and gave the Israeli government the pretext it needed to wage a devastating war on Lebanese territory.
“The greatest aid to Israel,” Salam declared, “was actually provided by those who unilaterally dragged Lebanon into futile ‘support’ war adventures, handing Israel the pretexts to attack our country, trample its sovereignty, destroy its cities and villages, and kill or displace hundreds of thousands of its people.”
President Joseph Aoun came to office in January 2025 with wide domestic and international backing after a long political deadlock. Many analysts and citizens view him as a unifying figure due to his military background and anti-sectarian messaging.
