“The Lebanese government has taken a wrongful decision to strip the Resistance and its people of weapons while Israeli aggression and expansionist intentions persist, under sinful American supervision”.
Addressing the memorial service in tribute of Lebanese cleric Sayyed Abbas Ali Al-Moussawi, Sheikh Qassem said that the Lebanese government must stay committed to the ceasefire agreement that imposes on the Israeli enemy the withdrawal from the Lebanese territories, the halt of attacks on Lebanon, and the release of the Lebanese prisoners.
Sheikh Qassem urged the Lebanese officials to reject the US dictates that may lead to an internal strife, saying: “It is better to tell the Americans that you cannot implement the decision than to fail later”.
“Do not worry about your posts because the Americans will not find better than you even if you fail. None can implement this decision”.
Sheikh Qassem underlined that Hezbollah rejects the step-for-step proposal because it does not trust the Americans, adding that the Resistance Party has abided by the ceasefire agreement and made heavy sacrifices which included the martyrdom of Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah.
When the Israeli enemy withdraws from South Lebanon, halts its attacks on Lebanon, and releases the Lebanese prisoners, and the Lebanese government starts the implementation of the reconstruction plan, we start discussing the defense strategy, Sheikh Qassem said.
“Let everyone know that we will never relinquish the weaponry that has honored and protected us, and the Israeli enemy would not be able to remain in Lebanon. Half of the Lebanese population would be ready to defend the weapons”.
Sheikh Qassem warned against Netanyahu’s scheme of ‘Greater Israel’, wondering whether those who request the disarmament of the resistance have noticed it.
His eminence affirmed that Hezbollah will prevent the Israeli expansionist scheme in the region, adding that the Zionist occupation sites in Lebanon will not remain.
Hezbollah Leader also highlighted the destructive American role in Lebanon, recalling the sanctions, block of gas project, stir of bloody rallies, and the prevention of the reconstruction project.
“Without the Resistance, ‘Israel’ would have reached the capital, Beirut, just as it reached Damascus, and it would have occupied 600 kilometers as it did in Syria”.
“Some people do not understand what the Resistance is and what it does. The Resistance is for defense and liberation; it is people, families, faith, and willpower. It is patriotism and honor. It is Gaza and steadfastness. It is the opposite of humiliation, surrender, and submission”, his eminence said.
“The Resistance is sacrifice. It is not an army of the state, but rather a supporter of the national army. It is not a substitute for the army, but it stands by it and assists it, while the army remains the first responsible for the defense of the homeland”.
According to Hezbollah leader, the Lebanese army must be armed and entrusted with responsibility, with the Resistance as a supporting factor.
“The Resistance has not lost its role, as some claim. The Resistance was established to confront aggression; it does not prevent aggression from occurring, but it confronts it, obstructs its objectives, and defeats it”.
The Resistance in Lebanon is great and divinely guided because it has been able, in an exceptional way, to truly deter ‘Israel’ from 2006 until 2024, his eminence added.
“Let it be clear: ‘Israel’ may occupy, destroy, and kill, but we will confront it with defense and sacrifice, and this is within our ability and will continue”.
Without the Resistance, ‘Israel’ would have reached the capital, Beirut, just as it reached Damascus, and it would have occupied 600 kilometers as it did in Syria, Sheikh Qassem maintained.
Sheikh Qassem pointed out that Lebanon needs to restore its sovereignty over its land, “as all the problems the Lebanese suffer from come from the enemy, the occupation, and American support for it”, adding that the government today is responsible for putting forward a plan to achieve sovereignty, “for there can be no stability without sovereignty and no revival without sovereignty”.
Sheikh Qassem urged the government to hold intensive discussion sessions on how to restore sovereignty—through diplomacy, arming the army, the defensive strategy, and every means that helps.
Sheikh Qassem called on the parties and elites to help the government in its way of thinking and to present your proposals, saying, “Dedicate this week to presenting proposals to the government in order to demand sovereignty”.
“I have chosen a slogan: ‘We demand that the Lebanese government restore national sovereignty’. We must work under this slogan for at least a week to make the government feel that we are with it in achieving sovereignty”,
Sheikh Qassem also recalled the ‘Fajr Al-Joroud’ battle “which was carried out by the Lebanese Army in cooperation with the Islamic Resistance, and together they achieved this great liberation victory”.
“This battle is an example of the defensive strategy, in which the Resistance stood as a strong support for the Lebanese Army in the liberation”.
Commenting on the Israeli aerial aggression on Yemen, Sheikh Qassem said that it targeted civilian facilities because the Yemenis support Gaza.
“Where are the Arabs, the free world, and the Muslims to stand with the people of Gaza?”
On anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Sayyed Moussa Al-Sadr, Sheikh Qassem said: “Imam Al-Sadr brought about a radical change in Lebanon, and he is the Imam of the resistors. Imam Al-Sadr was keen on national unity in a homeland that belongs to all of us, and he was the one who said that the South stood in defense on behalf of all Lebanon and the Arabs”.
On the occasion, Hezbollah Secretary General said, “Sayyed Abbas Al-Moussawi was a member of the Sharia Committee of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council and a member of the Association of Muslim Scholars”.
“Sayyed Abbas Ali Al-Moussawi was a unifying figure at the level of Lebanon and the region and was supportive in serving the Resistance”.
Sheikh Qassem had also called on the Islamic world to give due attention to the anniversary of the birth of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The memorial ceremony included the speech of the Deputy Head of Lebanon’s Higher Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib who advised the Lebanese government not to yield to American pressures and not to persist in its wrong decisions that would drag the country into internal strife desired by the enemy.
