10/29/2024–|Last updated: 10/29/202411:09 PM (Mecca time)
Mahmoud Qamati, Deputy Chairman of the Political Council of the Lebanese Hezbollah Party, said that the “veiled and clear” Israeli threat to assassinate the party’s new Secretary General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, “does not intimidate us and has no account at all.” He stressed that the Israeli talk about the party losing a large part of its missile force is “a lie.” pure”.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that the election of Sheikh Qassem as Secretary-General of Hezbollah, succeeding the late Hassan Nasrallah, is a “temporary appointment and will not last long,” in reference to the attempt to assassinate him.
In response to Gallant’s threat, the Hezbollah official said, “We are a nation that is not afraid of martyrdom, and when one of us accepts to be in a leadership position, he decides to be a martyr.” He stressed that the new Secretary-General knows the dangers surrounding him and is not afraid of Israel’s threats.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hezbollah announced the election of Qassem as Secretary-General. The party said in a statement that, “In adherence to Hezbollah’s principles and goals, and in accordance with the approved mechanism for electing the Secretary-General, the Hezbollah Shura agreed to elect His Eminence Sheikh Naim Qassem as Secretary-General.”
On the other hand, Qamati explained – in an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune – that the announcement of Sheikh Naim Qassem occupying the position of Secretary-General is not linked to political development, but rather is linked to the completion of the mechanism approved within the party to choose the Secretary-General, and he described Sheikh Qassem as a historical leadership figure, and he was Nasrallah’s companion. , who was assassinated by Israel in a raid on the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on September 27 of last year.
He added, “Hezbollah’s leadership was a collective leadership, and it is so today,” and the Secretary-General translates the decisions and policies approved in the party’s Shura Council.
Rocket stock
Regarding the Israeli army’s claims that Hezbollah only has 20% of its missile capabilities that it possessed before the war, Qamati responded by saying that this is “exaggerated and a complete lie.” He added, “We tell the enemy that we have not yet used our full missile capabilities.”
Although he said that he did not want to determine the percentage of missile capacity that the party lost, the Hezbollah official confirmed, “The stock of Hezbollah missiles can withstand a long period and deliver severe strikes deep into Israel, to 130, 140, and 145 kilometers.”
Regarding the initiatives proposed for a ceasefire, the Deputy Chairman of Hezbollah’s Political Council explained that they are not partners in any ongoing negotiations, and that “no political project or initiative has officially reached them.”
He said that Hezbollah’s priority is the field now, but it depends on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and officials in the Lebanese state, who he said are shaping the political position. He stressed, “Hezbollah does not accept any negotiation under fire… Let the aggression stop and we are ready to discuss all political issues.”
