Lebanese Kataeb Party leader Sami Gemayel called for an “intifada” against Hezbollah, saying Lebanon’s Shi’ite population is being held hostage by the terrorist group and should separate itself from Hezbollah as efforts continue to resolve the conflict with Israel and disarm the group.
Gemayel, who heads the Lebanese Social Democratic Party, made the comments during a meeting with a delegation from the Lebanese Press Editors’ Syndicate. He described Shi’ites as victims of Hezbollah and said he had raised the issue with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
After Gemayel sought to discuss with Berri ways of communicating with the Shi’ite community about distancing itself from Hezbollah, Berri quickly ended the discussion, he said. Berri is closely allied with Hezbollah, and commentators have suggested that the group’s support has helped him politically.
L’Orient Today reported that Gemayel said the Shi’ite population was effectively being held hostage by Hezbollah and called for an “intifada,” or uprising, against the group.
Gemayel supports ongoing talks between Israel and Lebanon aimed at ending the conflict. The talks have led to efforts to disarm Hezbollah, which opposes the negotiations and has said it will not surrender its weapons.
The Lebanese presidency separately reported progress in the negotiations. President Joseph Aoun “updated the government on positive progress in negotiations with Israel regarding the border issue,” as well as discussions concerning “the prisoners’ issue,” referring to Lebanese detainees held by Israel.
According to the presidency, Aoun also said that “Washington will work to address the ceasefire issue and the pilot zones.”
The developments came as military activity continued in southern Lebanon on Saturday.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier was moderately wounded by shrapnel during operational activity in southern Lebanon, the IDF Spokesperson said. The soldier was evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment, and his family was notified.
Lebanon later reported that two people were wounded in a drone strike in the Kfar Reman area in southern Lebanon.
