The head of the Kataeb party, MP Samy Gemayel, affirmed on Thursday that Lebanon can no longer coexist with Hezbollah’s weapons and hegemony over political life, warning of internal rifts.
“Hezbollah can decide either to drag Lebanon into more woes or to open a new page, and this is what we hope for. If Hezbollah insists on its logic, it will lead us to divorce,” said Gemayel who was hosted on Sar el Waet talk show on the local MTV channel.
Gemayel stressed that only two paths exist at present: “One is that Hezbollah accepts to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese army and stops being an Iranian arm, or not, which in this case would bring calamities on the country.”
“It is not permissible for Hezbollah to continue dragging Lebanon towards destruction… we are not willing to coexist with its weapons or any other weapons after today.”
Indicating that Hezbollah’s MPs and their families took refuge at the parliament building at the height of Israel’s targeting of party officials, Gemayel said, “parliament, which represents legitimacy, could provide protection, and only the army and the military presence on the border protects Lebanon, not (Hezbollah’s) resistance rifles or missiles.”
On the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, the Kataeb leader said Lebanon played the role of a mailbox as “it was negotiated between Israel and Iran.”
Expressing uncertainty about the fate of the ceasefire, he said, “it depends on the conviction and commitment of the parties,” stressing that the country can only be saved by the State which can defuse tensions by regaining its sovereignty and extending its authority over the entire Lebanese territory.
Regarding the presidential election, for which parliament Speaker Nabih Berri fixed a session on January 9, Gemayel said his party will vote for a candidate who is committed to Lebanon’s sovereignty, the exclusivity of arms within the legitimate authorities, rebuilding the state and its institutions, introducing the needed reforms and capable of maintaining Lebanon’s engagements with the international community.
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