Fadlallah says Hezbollah backs strengthening state role in south

MP Hassan Fadlallah of Hezbollah on Monday described the relation between south Lebanon and the Lebanese state as a “one-sided love,” noting that “the historical demand of its people is for this State to be present and fulfill its duties in protection and care.”

“This slogan was raised by Imam Sayyed Abdel Hussein Sharafeddine in 1949, and Imam Sayyed Moussa al-Sadr used to demand it as well. We remained as such generation after generation, and today the Duo -- Hezbollah and the Amal Movement -- are demanding this state,” Fadlallah added.

He explained that “protection and care mean that the state prevents the enemy from attacking our sovereignty, so that there is no violation in the air, sea, or land, no shelling, no arrests, and no destruction.”

“Had the state assumed this responsibility, there would have been no resistance throughout the history of the south, which arose even before Hezbollah," Fadlallah pointed out.

He emphasized that "the state is not a slogan, a speech, or ministerial statements. The state is what protects sovereignty, defends the people and the land, equips the army, and gives it the decision to confront Israeli aggression."

"We are in favor of strengthening the role of the state in the south and having it assume its full responsibilities, but that begins with expelling the occupation, stopping the aggression, and halting this bulldozing and destruction in our villages,” Fadlallah added.

He noted that “the negotiation path taken by this ruling authority is the highest political and military cost paid by Lebanon and paid by the south, because the authority surrendered sovereignty and accepted that its army be under the guardianship of others."

Fadlallah also considered that "the claims made by opponents of the resistance that it caused the Israeli war on Lebanon ... are a simplification and trivialization of the reality of the expansionist Israeli project and its ambitions in Lebanon.”

“The resistance is a national necessity, and it cannot be waived, nor can any infringement upon it be accepted in any shape or form,” he stressed. “It is a resistance defending its country and its people. If we want any internal approach to this issue, it begins first with the enemy's withdrawal, the return of our people to their villages, and the start of reconstruction,” he added.

“After that, we will sit with officials and relevant parties to conduct an internal dialogue to see what the best formula is: a national security strategy, a national defense strategy, or any other formula they name," the legislator went on to say.

He added that "holding onto the resistance is for the sake of Lebanon, the south, and our people.”