Hezbollah's Qassem Rejects Lebanon-Israel Framework Deal

Hezbollah's Naim Qassem has ruled out disarming the terror group and branded the Lebanon-Israel framework agreement unconstitutional. In a speech on regional developments, he also welcomed the agreement between Iran and the United States. The speech was relayed by the Abu Ali Express feed and has not been independently verified.

Qassem stated that Hezbollah will continue what it calls resistance and will not surrender its weapons while what he described as the occupation persists. He demanded that Israel withdraw in line with the November 27, 2024 agreement and Resolution 1701.

That demand collides with Israel's declared policy. On October 14, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF is deployed in the security zones in Lebanon and Syria to protect residents of the Galilee and the Golan. "As the prime minister and I have made clear: we will not withdraw from the security zones," Katz said, as reported at the time.

Qassem argued that the framework agreement violates Lebanon's constitution and undermines the country's sovereignty.

He took a different line on the Iran-U.S. agreement, praising it as a boost to the resistance and crediting it with reducing aggression against Lebanon.

Qassem also called for an end to American influence over Lebanese state institutions. On reconstruction, he pledged that Hezbollah would rebuild with the resources available and with support from countries he described as friendly.

The framework Qassem rejected includes the disarmament of Hezbollah. Israeli and Lebanese officials met at US Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to continue implementing the US-brokered agreement, The Jerusalem Post reported on October 20. Those talks ended without an agreement and with no follow-up meeting scheduled, after Lebanon rejected an Israeli proposal on a mechanism to monitor that disarmament.