BEIRUT — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday rejected Israel’s continued occupation of Lebanese territory as a new round of Lebanon-Israel negotiations got under way in the United States.
“We will accept nothing less than the end of the Israeli occupation and the elimination of all forms of external tutelage, because our only choice is national sovereignty,” Aoun said during a meeting with Lebanese Army Commander Rodolphe Haykal and members of the advisory team accompanying the Lebanese delegation participating in the talks in Washington.
According to a statement released by Lebanon’s presidency, the meeting reviewed the outcomes of the fifth round of negotiations held by the Lebanese diplomatic and military delegation.
The Lebanese president also expressed hope that the new round of talks would be “decisive along the path of achieving what we seek for the good of our nation and people,” namely “the full restoration of Lebanon’s sovereignty over every grain of its soil.”
Later on Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Aoun in a call that the US was following up on understandings reached in Switzerland, including plans to consolidate a ceasefire in Lebanon.
The statement added that arrangements for a mechanism to firm up the ceasefire and monitor its implementation were still being discussed.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said the ceasefire agreement must be fully implemented, stressing that Israel has no option but to fully withdraw from all Lebanese territories,
“There is no option before Israel except a full withdrawal from all Lebanese land without retaining a single inch under any pretext,” Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said on Tuesday during a gathering in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
According to al-Manar local TV channel, Qassem said Hezbollah and Lebanon had entered “a new phase” marked by what he described as the failure of Israel’s efforts to eliminate the group.
“The major project aimed at ending Hezbollah militarily, politically, culturally, socially, and humanly has been broken,” he said, arguing that Israel had failed to achieve its objectives despite years of military pressure.
Qassem maintained that resistance remained the only guarantee for Lebanon’s liberation, independence, and sovereignty, while criticizing the United States and other international actors for what he described as failing to uphold commitments under a ceasefire agreement in 2024.
Source: Saudi Gazette