Naim Qassem: There are those who justify what Israel is doing, and the United States is deceitful in its pressure on Tel Aviv

Sheikh Naim Qassem, Deputy Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said that there are those who justify what Israel is doing and present options that disrupt Lebanon’s strength.

The Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah added, during a speech he delivered at the Ashura Council on the seventh night in the Husseiniya of Al-Awzai in Beirut, that all the statements indicate that Netanyahu wants the war to continue, even if it lasts for months and years.

Sheikh Qassem stated that “Netanyahu is deceiving and lying when he talks about agreeing to a ceasefire agreement because he sets preconditions that say if the ceasefire stops for the first stage (i.e. within 48 days) the Israelis want to return to fighting. Who will agree to that? Is it reasonable for Hamas and the resistance to agree to a ceasefire for 48 days and release the prisoners, and then after that they say go ahead and continue fighting? Is that reasonable?!”

He continued, saying: "America is not putting enough pressure, because it has a priority that Israel be comfortable. America is being deceptive in its pressure."

Sheikh Qassem stressed that if the war continues for many months, the resistance in Gaza and the Palestinian people will stand firm no matter how long the war lasts, and they have the capabilities and will that will enable them to stand firm until victory is achieved by not allowing Israel to achieve its goals, whether through annihilation or surrender, stressing that the longer the time, the more Israel will lose.

The Deputy Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah said, "I believe that there is now an important opportunity to pressure Israel to stop after we saw the failure of American pressure and its lack of seriousness and Israel's determination to continue... It has become necessary to search for pressure to put an end to Israel."

He added, "Now there is an opportunity for the Arab and Islamic countries to stand up bravely for once. I am not telling them to fight Israel, but I am telling them that whoever has economic or political relations should sever them, and whoever has promises to Israel should stop them."

Sheikh Qassim continued by saying: “If the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference can come together to say a unified position rejecting the genocide taking place in Gaza and direct this call practically with deterrent measures against Israel as the axis of resistance did but not on the military level, at least on the political, economic, commercial and practical level so that Israel feels that it is besieged and so that America feels that all the Arab countries will stand as one, this position may develop further if the problem in Gaza is not resolved.”