The head of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement said Wednesday that he has examined the US proposal for a ceasefire with Israel and it depends on the Israeli response and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “seriousness.”
Naim Qassem said in a televised speech that Hezbollah will not agree to a ceasefire that does not “stop the aggression completely” and does not “preserve Lebanese sovereignty.”
Qassem was referring to a contentious point reportedly contained in the current draft agreement that explicitly grants Israel a right to self-defence.
He confirmed that ceasefire negotiations were ongoing, but made it clear that the militia would not suspend its attacks during the talks.
“We will stay on the battlefield no matter how high the cost might be,” Hezbollah’s leader added, stressing that his group has not and will not change its “national resistance positions.”
It is unclear where Qassem is residing now. He has given several speeches since the killing of his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah in late September and was named Hezbollah’s new leader three weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s House speaker Nabih Berri, who is mediating in the negotiations on behalf of Hezbollah with the US envoy Amos Hochstein, was quoted as saying that “the negotiations this time are based on something, pending the Israeli response.”
Berri met Hochstein for the second time on Wednesday, after talks the day before. Hochstein is now due in Israel.
