Bassil: Hezbollah’s weapons are defensive by decision of seven governments… Is Trump serious about peace?

Lebanon Today

Gebran Bassil, head of the “Free Patriotic Movement,” stated in a television interview with Al-Jadeed channel that true peace in the region can only be achieved through solutions based on rights, not on force.

He pointed out that “if the American president is serious about peace, he must seek a fair settlement that gives Israel security, and in return gives Lebanon and the Arab countries their rights, which opens the door to a peace based on development, economic and technological competition, not on conflict and destruction.”

Bassil added, “Without this solution, we will remain in a conflict of the gods, where there is no real winner,” considering that “Israeli threats should be taken seriously, but at the same time, part of it is political and psychological pressure, as Israel destroyed Gaza but could not eliminate Hamas, and in Lebanon, we do not want to repeat this scenario.”

He stressed that “Israel, with its attempts to occupy land, has not succeeded, and Hezbollah cannot deal with the reality without acknowledging the existence of a new military situation,” adding: “We know Israeli arrogance well.”

Bassil criticized the performance of the Lebanese government, considering that it “does not deal with this file seriously, because it makes contradictory promises,” and added that “the current authority came on the basis of an agenda whose title is handing over weapons, but it has not implemented anything in this file or in the file of reforms, and the result is zero.”

He explained that “instead of the government initiating a national dialogue on the defense strategy, it approved a paper that it could not implement,” pointing out that “the basic problem is that Israel remains an occupying state, and there was a tacit agreement, but it did the opposite to give Hezbollah an excuse to keep its weapons, which it basically does not want to hand over.”

Bassil asked, “Is the weapon a means or an end? Do we link it to protecting Lebanon or to an issue of honor and dignity?” considering that “the step required today is to reassure Hezbollah that the goal of protecting Lebanon can be achieved by agreed-upon means.”

He pointed out that “even the martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah previously spoke about the exceptional situation,” pointing out that “the military reality shows that Hezbollah cannot defend alone, but why did all Lebanese accept the legitimacy of Hezbollah’s weapons since after Taif? Since the government of President Salim El-Hoss, there has been a general acceptance of the defensive function of this weapon.”

He added that “seven governments in which the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb were represented did not object to the clause on the resistance’s weapons, as well as the government of Omar Karami, and even after the quadripartite alliance, and in the government of President Saad Hariri in 2009, there was a Lebanese consensus that Hezbollah’s weapons have a defensive function.”

Regarding the Lebanese army, Bassil said: “The army must have a minimum of armament, such as Kornet missiles and air defense systems, as this is the simplest of its rights.” He asked: “Has Lebanon ever attacked in its history?”

He believed that “Israel has nullified all forms of negotiation, although it was part of the state’s strength, and we do not reject negotiation, as the Israelis sit in Naqoura in the same room with the Lebanese delegation.”

He added that “the form of negotiation is as important as the content, and this is not the first time that negotiations are conducted through security committees,” pointing out that “the maritime demarcation file, for example, is not only military, but also has an economic aspect, and the Lebanese delegation included the Director-General of the Presidential Palace and specialists, and their presence was necessary, and this is not (taboo).”

Bassil said: “I previously spoke about peace with Al-Mayadeen channel, and in the Mar Mikhael Church, I affirmed that we do not copy anyone’s positions, but we want our rights.” He continued: “Is there a real peace between Egypt and Israel? I believe that the day must come when we pray in Jerusalem, but that will not be achieved until Lebanon regains its land, the attacks stop, its wealth is invested, and the Palestinian refugee returns to his homeland and the Syrian displaced person to his country.”

He concluded his speech by emphasizing that “this vision guarantees Lebanon’s neutrality from wars, because war is not a goal, but Lebanon must remain within the Arab fold, and Saudi Arabia is committed to the two-state solution.”