Geagea responds to Naeem Qassem's speech, describing it as a "direct threat"

The leader of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, described Naeem Qassem's speech, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, as a "direct threat" to the Lebanese government and constitutional institutions, in response to Qassem's televised statements on Friday, in which he accused the government of "handing Lebanon over to Israel".

In a statement issued by Geagea on Saturday, he said: "Qassem's speech is rejected by all standards, and it constitutes a direct threat to the Lebanese government primarily, to the parliamentary majority that granted this government confidence secondarily, and to all constitutional institutions in Lebanon, foremost among them the presidency and the premiership".

He added: "If Qassem assumes that there are no longer any free Lebanese in Lebanon, he is mistaken, indeed very mistaken. And if he assumes that in this way he imposes his nonexistent authority on these free Lebanese, he is also mistaken, again and again".

Geagea continued, affirming the support of free Lebanese behind their constitutional institutions, saying: "In these sensitive moments of Lebanon's history, we all stand as free Lebanese, and we constitute the vast majority in Lebanon, behind our constitutional institutions, particularly represented by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, who are striving with all their patriotism, enthusiasm, and strength to restore Lebanon to itself".

He concluded his statement by emphasizing that "the phase we are living in is an exceptional foundational phase, and we will spare no effort in supporting our constitutional institutions, standing all together behind and beside them, and we will spare no effort in doing everything possible to prevent anyone from sabotaging this attempt again".

This response comes in the wake of Naeem Qassem's statements on Friday, in which he warned that the government's decision to disarm Hezbollah could lead to a "civil war", accusing it of "implementing the Israeli and American decision". Qassem said: "The government of Nawaf Salam has made a very serious decision... and it is exposing the country to a major crisis", affirming that Hezbollah "is on high alert for confrontation" and will not give up its weapons until the Israeli aggressions cease.