Hezbollah: 'March 14 weapons' should be directed at Israel

Hezbollah official Sheikh Nabil Qaouk urged the March 14 coalition Thursday to recognize the achievements of the resistance and urged the opposition group, members of which it recently labeled as a militia, to direct “its weapons” at Israel. “[I] urge March 14 to recognize that the [2000] liberation was an achievement by all Lebanese and that Israel is our enemy and that the resistance's strategy is a national need to continue liberating and protecting our sovereignty,” Qaouk said during a ceremony in south Lebanon. Qaouk spoke on the eve of Liberation and Resistance Day which is commemorated on May 25. Referring to recent incidents in the north and the capital, the Hezbollah official also urged the opposition “to withdraw all weapons from alleys and streets and for the arms used in Tripoli, Tariq al-Jadideh and other areas to be incorporated into Lebanon's national [defense] strategy and be directed at Israel.” Hezbollah MPs Tuesday accused the Future Movement, a leading component of the March 14 alliance, of acting like a militia and imposing its views on others by force. “The tragic events which resulted in the death of several Lebanese [in Beirut] confirm that the Future Movement is a militia in every sense of the word,” Baalbek MP Nawar Sahili said in a statement. Sahili was referring to clashes late Sunday night and early Monday morning between Future Movement supporters and their rivals in the Arab Movement Party in the Beirut neighborhood of Tariq al-Jadideh. But the Future Movement said Tuesday that the latest incidents, which began with the killing of Sheikh Ahmad Abdul-Wahed Sunday at a Lebanese Army checkpoint and spread to Tariq al-Jadideh Sunday night, are the result of provocations by armed groups funded by the Syrian regime and its allies in Lebanon. The head of the Future Movement Saad Hariri said on his Twitter feed Tuesday that “arms [will remain] unacceptable for as long as I live.” During his address Thursday, Qaouk also echoed accusations by Syria that parts of Lebanon had turned into areas for smuggling fighters and weapons into its neighbor and said Hezbollah was eager that Lebanon remain on its policy of dissociation toward developments in Syria. “We are very keen on distancing Lebanon from the fire burning in Syria and that the dispute today is not related to Syrian refugees ... but that Syrian gunmen have turned some Lebanese areas into headquarters to launch their military attacks against the Syrian army.” Both Prime Minister Najib Mikati and President Michel Sleiman have rejected the accusations by Syria. Qaouk urged the opposition group to agree with its rivals in the March 8 coalition not “to allow Lebanon to become a headquarters for these gunmen.”