Qassem demands full Israeli withdrawal 'according to a timetable'
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Tuesday demanded a full, scheduled withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon to make way for a Lebanese Army deployment in the south following the U.S.-Iran deal to end the Middle East war.
"We now have a ceasefire. The withdrawal must take place according to a timetable. Israel has no choice but to fully withdraw from all Lebanese territory, without retaining an inch," Qassem said in a televised address.
"Israel withdraws and the Lebanese Army deploys exclusively south of the Litani River," Qassem added.
Moreover, Qassem noted that "we are now in a new phase in the history of Lebanon, its resistance, its army, its people, and its future -- phase called breaking the Israeli project."
"We can say that after all of Israel's attempts over the past two or three years, we have reached a stage where the project has been broken. This doesn't mean they won't try again, or that there won't be other phases, but there was a grand project called eliminating Hezbollah militarily, politically, culturally, socially, and demographically, and eliminating its existence and the existence of all those who stand with it ... This project has been broken," Qassem boasted.
He suggested that now the Israelis "need a long period of time to try to return. They may succeed, or they may not. Let them try their luck."
Qassem also pointed out that Hezbollah had chosen to "join the fighting while counting on Iran" on March 2 out of the Lebanese group's "cleverness."
"When we entered the fray while Iran was already engaged, we benefited from them, and they benefited from us, and these were the results," Qassem explained.
As for the future of his group's controversial arsenal of weapons, Qassem said: "Israel has no say in what we agree upon internally in Lebanon, and it must be prevented from interfering, asking questions, or even knowing what we will do in the future. It has no right to know. This interference must be prevented."
He concluded: "The Lebanese political authority now has a proven guarantee called the Resistance, the most honorable resistance that shattered the might of America and Israel and prevented Israel from achieving its goals. We tell you to benefit from this resistance so that you may be strong in facing challenges."
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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