Hezbollah rejects talks with Israel as attacks spark fear of renewed war
Hezbollah’s response to President Joseph Aoun’s call for talks with Israel have further deepened divisions in the country.
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s paramilitary Hezbollah group on Thursday rejected any negotiations with Israel, which it said threatens the country’s sovereignty, as escalating Israeli attacks in the country spark fears of a renewed war.
Israel has intensified its attacks in Lebanon in recent weeks amid stark warnings from its officials that Hezbollah is attempting to rearm and regroup in violation of the ceasefire and that Beirut is delaying the disarmament process.
In an open letter addressed to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Hezbollah vowed to “block any attempts to drag the Lebanese state into new rounds of negotiations for purposes that solely serve the goals and interests of the Zionist enemy.”
“Such negotiations serve no national interest and pose existential risks to the Lebanese entity and its sovereignty,” the group wrote, adding, “The current stage requires national unity to confront aggression and a rejection of any slide toward new political negotiations with the enemy.”
