Gemayel to LBCI: Lebanon's right to solely armed army must be affirmed, warns of risks in partial implementation of Resolution 1701

The leader of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, Samy Gemayel, said that Lebanon's right to have its weapons solely in the hands of the Lebanese army must be affirmed. 

In an interview with LBCI's "Hiwar Al Marhala" talk show, he warned that Resolution 1701 could be detrimental to Lebanon if partially implemented, leaving Hezbollah armed.

Gemayel stated, "The Kataeb Party do not know surrender. We will defend our rights, our people, and our history."

 

He added, ''In the current conflict, we believe the Lebanese must have representation at the negotiating table.''

''Hezbollah's problem is that it seeks control and dominance over Lebanon, and it needs its weapons to achieve that,'' Gemayel continued.

He expressed, ''We are deeply sympathetic towards the Palestinians, but Hezbollah's support has demonstrated its aim to promote resistance in the Islamic world.''

 

Gemayel explained that if Hezbollah's goal were truly to liberate Palestine, it would have engaged with Hamas against Israel on October 7th.

 

He added, ''Israel does not want war, and neither does Hezbollah. However, once a missile lands in a place where it must not, we risk being drawn into war.''

 

''The attack on Bkerki was driven by its core political position, which is to defend Lebanon's sovereignty,'' he stated.

 

Gemayel remarked, ''We refrained from visiting Bkerki due to security concerns. When Gebran Bassil criticized us, we reminded him that we have been the target of security threats, not him.''