[News] Lebanon - Enemy's days on our land limited; direct talks 'null'

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/enemy-s-days-on-our-land-limited--direct-talks--null--void>
Enemy's days on our land limited; direct talks 'null': Sheikh Qassem
Al Mayadeen English
April 27, 2026
------------------------------

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem rejects direct negotiations
as 'null and void', issuing five non-negotiable demands.

   - [image: Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem issued a
   statement on Monday, April 27, 2026.]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/4/27/73d4f8a7-f2e1-4dc0-b3c9-5a6cc6280216.webp?width=1000>
   Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem in an illustrated
image. *(Designed
   by: Al Mayadeen) *

Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem affirmed in a statement on
Monday that the Israeli occupation "will not remain on one inch of our
occupied land, and our people will return to their land", addressing the
people of the resistance by saying: “O our people, just as we resisted
together, we will rebuild it together.”

Sheikh Qassem stressed that the entry point and solution to what is
happening in Lebanon today is to obtain the five points before anything
else.

The five demands are as follows:

   - An end to Israeli aggression by land, sea, and air
   - "Israel's" withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territory
   - The release of all detainees
   - The return of displaced residents to their towns and villages
   - Reconstruction

He said the Israeli enemy, "backed by the American tyrant," had bet on
eliminating the Islamic Resistance and the Resistance community, but
despite resorting to every possible means, it has failed since the launch
of the People of Might battle on September 23, 2024.

Sheikh Qassem said the enemy made its decisive gamble on March 2, 2026, but
the Resistance fighters confronted it in the Devoured Straw battle,
surprising not only "Israel" and its allies, but also the wider world
through their resilience, courage, and steadfastness, alongside diverse and
effective tactics, disciplined command, and steadfast public unity despite
displacement and heavy losses.

This steadfastness, he said, has driven the enemy into a dead end. "This
resistance is enduring, powerful, and cannot be defeated," he stressed.
'A humiliating concession… the authority must return to its people'

Against this backdrop of steadfastness, Sheikh Qassem criticised the
Lebanese authorities for rushing into a "gratuitous and humiliating
concession," one that was unnecessary and amounted to "submission without
any return whatsoever."

He reiterated his categorical rejection of direct negotiations, warning
that the authorities’ conduct "will serve neither Lebanon nor themselves,"
adding that "what the Israeli-American enemy wants from them [Lebanese
authorities] is not theirs to give, and what they [Lebanese authorities]
seek from [the US-Israeli enemy] will not be granted."

Sheikh Qassem stressed that the current leadership "cannot continue while
relinquishing Lebanon's rights, conceding land, and confronting its own
people,' urging instead to return to governing as the authority of the
entire nation rather than a faction, through the consensus underpinning the
Taif Agreement and the Lebanese constitution.

He added that authorities must reverse their "grave mistakes," halt direct
talks with "Israel" in favor of indirect negotiations, and rescind the
March 2 decision criminalizing the resistance and its supporters, who make
up more than half of the Lebanese population, in order to enable meaningful
internal dialogue free from external pressure.
'We will not give up our weapons'

Sheikh Qassem explained that the resistance's weapons are defensive in
nature, intended to repel aggression, not its cause.

He added that the real objective of aggression is now clear for all: "the
occupation of Lebanon as part of a so-called 'Greater Israel' project," and
it is precisely against that objective that the resistance's weapons
remain, at this stage, essential for survival.

Acknowledging the scale of sacrifice, he framed the choice plainly:
"liberation and dignity, or occupation and humiliation, and humiliation is
not an option for us."

He reiterated that the resistance will not disarm, saying battlefield
developments have demonstrated its readiness for sacrifice, adding that
such sacrifices are "the price of liberation and dignified life."
'No ceasefire without Iran'

Sheikh Qassem criticized the proponents of surrender, saying they "are not
directly targeted, yet profit from others’ suffering", settling for "crumbs
of power and minor gains" at the expense of their compatriots’ destruction
and the occupation of part of their homeland. He called for a return to
national unity, arguing it is the path to collective victory and the defeat
of the enemy.

He credited the ceasefire to Iran's role during the ceasefire negotiations
in Islamabad, following the "legendary steadfastness" of the resistance and
the Lebanese people.

He questioned the authorities’ stance, arguing that any ceasefire proposal,
regardless of the mediator, should be accepted, while insisting that only
Lebanon can negotiate its own terms.
'A day of disgrace in Washington'

Sheikh Qassem recalled "Black Wednesday," when the Israeli occupation
launched 200 airstrikes across Beirut and Lebanon within ten minutes,
killing more than 300 civilians and wounding over 1,200, claiming Lebanese
authorities were not committed to a ceasefire.

What followed, he said, was worse. Lebanese officials met directly with the
enemy in Washington in what constituted "a day of disgrace," after which
the US State Department announced that Lebanese authorities had signed an
agreement, without even convening.

The terms of the agreement imposed a unilateral ceasefire on Lebanon while
granting "Israel" freedom to continue its aggression, and included an
acknowledgment by both governments of the need to curb the resistance's
activities and those of other so-called "rogue groups."

Sheikh Qassem then questioned whether the governing authority had chosen to
act alongside the Israeli enemy against their own people. Nonetheless, he
expressed hope that they would reverse course, revealing that direct
negotiations and their outcomes are "null and void for us and do not
concern us in any way."
Sheikh Qassem affirms resistance's steadfastness

Sheikh Qassem affirmed that the resistance will continue defending Lebanon
and its people, pledging no "return to the pre–March 2 reality." He
promised that the resistance will continue to "respond to Israeli
aggression and confront it. No matter the threats, we will not retreat, we
will not bow, and we will not be defeated."

Addressing "Israel," he said: "Threaten as you wish. The men of God in the
field will not bow."

He affirmed unity with the Amal Movement, national political forces, and
figures across Lebanon's regions and sects.

Sheikh Qassem vowed that the resistance would not betray the blood of its
martyrs, "foremost among them the master of the martyrs of the nation,
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, along with Sayyed Hashem Safieddine and all the
martyrs," nor the wounds of the injured, the suffering of the detained, or
the sacrifices of the displaced.

On the question of the resistance's capabilities, Sheikh Qassem rejected
any time-bound measure, clarifying that "they are not measured in months or
years. They are built on a triad: faith, will, and capacity, and this triad
does not run dry."

He stressed that these pillars are inexhaustible, citing both the fighters'
resilience and divine support, before concluding by welcoming any support
for Lebanon’s liberation and reconstruction while rejecting those who serve
the enemy’s agenda.
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