National Bloc: Hezbollah’s Threats Endanger Civil Peace and Sovereignty

The National Bloc took note of the speech delivered by Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, which included threats to drag Lebanon into strife should the government proceed with its historic sovereign decision to restrict arms to the state alone.

The Bloc considers that clinging to weapons outside the framework of legitimacy is what truly threatens civil peace and drags the country toward a path of self-destruction.

It affirms that Qassem’s statement, “There is no life for Lebanon if Hezbollah’s weapons are touched,” places the fate of the Lebanese people hostage to the weapons of an illegitimate faction. An explicit violation of the Constitution, the Taif Agreement, international resolutions, the ministerial statement, and the presidential oath, and ties Lebanon to foreign agendas that serve no national interest.

The Bloc declares its full support for the government led by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and for the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, in their sovereign course, and calls for moving forward in extending the authority of the state over all Lebanese territory and ridding the country of all illegitimate weapons, in order to safeguard civil peace and protect sovereignty.