Hezbollah chief calls Israel-Lebanon deal a 'humiliation'

BEIRUT - Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Saturday denounced the agreement between Israel and Lebanon as a "humiliation," a "disgrace" and a surrender of Lebanese sovereignty, calling for the deal to be scrapped.

Addressing his remarks to the Lebanese government, Qassem said it was time to reverse what he described as mistaken decisions that would otherwise lead the country to ruin, according to a statement carried by Hezbollah's Al-Manar television channel.

Qassem particularly criticized provisions linking an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon to the disarmament of Hezbollah, saying the arrangement crossed "red lines," allowed Israel to interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs and legitimized a continued occupation.

Hezbollah would continue its "resistance" against Israel, Qassem said. The group would pursue a full Israeli withdrawal through political channels while remaining active "as a resistance on the battlefield" until the occupation ends.

Israeli and Lebanese officials reached the framework agreement on Friday after days of U.S.-mediated talks in Washington.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described it as a "first step," with the sides saying the ultimate goal is to disarm Hezbollah and enable the Lebanese government to reassert control over all its territory.

At the heart of the deal are pilot projects under which Israeli forces would transfer control of parts of southern Lebanon currently under their occupation to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Hezbollah, Iran's most important non-state ally in the region, did not participate in the negotiations. The group has sent rockets and drones into northern Israel, while the Lebanese government itself is not a party to the fighting.

The Shiite militant movement has repeatedly denounced the talks as an act of capitulation.

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