Hezbollah leader rejects Lebanon–Israel direct talks
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has rejected Lebanon’s planned direct negotiations with Israel, branding them a “grave sin” that will destabilise the country. His remarks come after Lebanon and Israel’s US ambassadors held two rare meetings in Washington in recent weeks, the first such encounters in decades. The initial meeting helped secure a truce in the ongoing Israel–Hezbollah war, and Beirut has been preparing for direct talks aimed at reaching a peace deal with Israel, a country it has officially been at war with since 1948. “We categorically reject direct negotiations with Israel, and those in power should know that their actions will not benefit Lebanon or themselves,” Qassem said in a statement broadcast on Hezbollah’s Al‑Manar TV channel. He urged authorities to “back down from their grave sin that is putting Lebanon in a spiral of instability,” accusing the government […]