Hezbollah Official: People Have Right to Resist Occupation, Lebanon Won’t Move towards Normalization

By Staff

Hezbollah's Deputy Executive Council Head, Sheikh Ali Damoush, believed what Lebanon is experiencing in terms of occupation, aggressions, and violation of its sovereignty is primarily aimed at pressuring it to normalize with the Zionist entity.

“However, our people reject normalization and won’t allow Lebanon to move towards it with this terrorist enemy that has destroyed the country,” he said.

Damoush further emphasized during the Friday Sermon that "just as our people were not affected by pressures in previous phases and were not brought down by wars and aggressions, they will not bow to the new American and ‘Israeli’ pressures.”

He considered that it is the state's duty to protect our country from the dangers of normalization and from the enemy's ambitions, which, with American complicity, are pushing for direct negotiations with “Israel” and “linking reconstruction and foreign financial support to political conditions that would strip Lebanon of its strength."

In parallel, the Hezbollah official went on saying, “We will not accept that the reconstruction issue be subjected to any political or non-political conditions. What we want to emphasize is that the reconstruction project is a national responsibility that primarily falls on the state, and the state must take this responsibility seriously. It must prevent the enemy from imposing conditions, complications, or facts on the southern borders to obstruct this project or prevent the residents from returning to their villages to resume their normal lives.”

Damoush underlined that “We in Hezbollah are determined to continue what we have started in terms of reconstruction and compensation, no matter the difficulties, because the reconstruction project is part of the resistance against occupation. However, what we are doing does not absolve the state of its responsibilities.”

He pointed out that the resistance today gives the state the opportunity to fulfill its duties towards its people and citizens, making them feel that there is a state supporting, protecting and defending them, as well as preventing the enemy from invading their villages.

He emphasized that it should not be content with mere stances of sympathy, as its negligence and indifference leave the people with no choice but to do everything possible to defend their lives and livelihoods.

Damoush addressed Hezbollah rivals by saying: “You believe that the state is the one that protects the country and defends the homeland, and that weapons should be restricted to the state. Well, today the state is present along the entire border and has the opportunity to fulfill its role with weapons in hand, along with the committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement and the international community as well. So, what have you done so far in the face of daily ‘Israeli’ violations and aggressions? At least try to convince us of the rationale behind the state’s exclusive possession of weapons.”

He concluded by saying: “There is an occupation, and it is impossible to restrict weapons to the state as long as the occupation is present. When there is a persistent occupation and aggression, weapons represent the adornment of men, and everyone must confront this occupation by all means. This is a right that we can’t abandon, no matter the sacrifices.”