Geagea slams ‘Resistance Axis’ for pulling Lebanon into futile war
Continuous airstrikes in southern Lebanon combined with growing anxiety over the possibility of an all-out war appears to have left Lebanon’s largest parliamentary faction at their wit’s end and out of patience with the militant group Hezbollah.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated on September 1st that discussions between Israel and Hezbollah after the end of the conflict in Gaza and southern Lebanon must “review everything, except for Lebanon’s borders and its unity”, reported Asharq al-Awsat and agencies.
Whilst attending a commemoration of Lebanese Forces martyrs, Geagea criticised Hezbollah and the Axis of Resistance for dragging Lebanon into an “open futile war” imposed on the people of Lebanon that he demanded must be stopped.
The leader went on to accuse the Shia militant group Hezbollah of “exploiting the Palestinian cause to strengthen its interests in Lebanon and the region”.
“The Lebanese people don’t want a war, and the government has had no say in it,” he added.
Geagea called on Hezbollah to show “courage and end the war. This demands a commitment to United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, the deployment of the Lebanese army in the South and limiting the decision to go to war to the state alone.”
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“However, if the party insists on pursuing the war, then it alone must suffer the consequences before God, the nation, people and history,”
He also urged the Lebanese government to call on Hezbollah to stop the war.
Geagea criticised parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, stating: “He must act according to his constitutional role, not his political one as an ally to a party [Hezbollah] that has ambitions beyond the presidency and Lebanon.”
The former militia stated that “the road to the presidential palace in Baabda does not pass through Haret Hreik,” an area known for being a Hezbollah stronghold located in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Geagea also noted that the road to the presidency does not pass through Ain al-Tineh—Berri’s neighbourhood—or his conditions. The leader stressed that the presidency must pass through parliament and the ballot box.
Since Michel Aoun stepped down from the Presidency in October 2022, a vacuum has remained within Lebanese politics. Parliament remains deeply divided, with many fearing international ostracisation if the situation continues.
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Geagea reiterated his support of the opposition’s call for holding an open parliamentary session to elect a president, adding that it was a priority for the government which should not be up to compromise.
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging missile fire across the southern Lebanese border ever since the inception of the conflict in Gaza on October 7th last year. Currently, 26 civilian deaths have taken place on the Israeli side, along with 20 IDF soldiers and reservists killed since the fighting began.
The Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah announced that 432 members have been killed by Israel in recent skirmishes, with some also dying in Syria.
Thousands of civilians from both sides have been displaced by the conflict, with many fearing that they, too, will soon have to flee their homes.
Asharq al-Awsat and agencies
