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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Enemy's days on our land limited; direct talks 'null': Sheikh Qassem</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">April 27, 2026</div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>Hezbollah
Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem rejects direct negotiations as
'null and void', issuing five non-negotiable demands.</p><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>
<a href="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/4/27/73d4f8a7-f2e1-4dc0-b3c9-5a6cc6280216.webp?width=1000" tabindex="0"><img src="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/4/27/73d4f8a7-f2e1-4dc0-b3c9-5a6cc6280216.webp?width=1000&preset=w750" alt="Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem issued a statement on Monday, April 27, 2026." class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img" width="534" height="262" style="margin-right: 25px;"></a>
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem in an illustrated image. <em>(Designed by: Al Mayadeen) </em>
</li></div></ul>
<p>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: \u201cO our people, just
as we resisted together, we will rebuild it together.\u201d </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The five demands are as follows: </p>
<ul><li>An end to Israeli aggression by land, sea, and air</li><li>"Israel's" withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territory</li><li>The release of all detainees</li><li>The return of displaced residents to their towns and villages</li><li>Reconstruction</li></ul>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>This steadfastness, he said, has driven the enemy into a dead end.
"This resistance is enduring, powerful, and cannot be defeated," he
stressed.</p>
<h2>'A humiliating concession\u2026 the authority must return to its people'</h2>
<p>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."</p>
<p>He reiterated his categorical rejection of direct negotiations,
warning that the authorities\u2019 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."</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<h2>'We will not give up our weapons'</h2>
<p>Sheikh Qassem explained that the resistance's weapons are defensive in nature, intended to repel aggression, not its cause.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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."</p>
<p>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."</p>
<h2>'No ceasefire without Iran'</h2>
<p>Sheikh Qassem criticized the proponents of surrender, saying they
"are not directly targeted, yet profit from others\u2019 suffering", settling
for "crumbs of power and minor gains" at the expense of their
compatriots\u2019 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>He questioned the authorities\u2019 stance, arguing that any ceasefire
proposal, regardless of the mediator, should be accepted, while
insisting that only Lebanon can negotiate its own terms.</p>
<h2>'A day of disgrace in Washington'</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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."</p>
<p>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."</p>
<h2>Sheikh Qassem affirms resistance's steadfastness </h2>
<p>Sheikh Qassem affirmed that the resistance will continue defending
Lebanon and its people, pledging no "return to the pre\u2013March 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."</p>
<p>Addressing "Israel," he said: "Threaten as you wish. The men of God in the field will not bow."</p>
<p>He affirmed unity with the Amal Movement, national political forces, and figures across Lebanon's regions and sects.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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."</p>
<p>He
stressed that these pillars are inexhaustible, citing both the
fighters' resilience and divine support, before concluding by welcoming
any support for Lebanon\u2019s liberation and reconstruction while rejecting
those who serve the enemy\u2019s agenda.</p></div></div></div>
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