“The real endgame of the Lebanese Forces is to ignite a civil war that would lead to demographic change.”

This is what the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, revealed in his speech on the recent developments in Lebanon after the Tayouneh ambush.

Sayyed Nasrallah confirmed the desire of a party [The Lebanese Forces] to make “our people in Ain al-Remmaneh and Furn El Chebbak” believe that their surrounding neighbors in the Southern suburbs are their enemies, decrying the labeling of the murder of demonstrators as “an act of resistance” by some of the LF’s officials.

The Secretary-General pointed out that the head of this party is trying to generate an imaginary internal enemy in the hopes of keeping Christians worried about their local presence, thus spreading desperation in order to anoint himself as “the defender of Christians.”

The LF and its leader were not mentioned by name previously in order to avoid raising tension, the Secretary-General noted, despite the recurrent insults Hezbollah received from the right-wing party.

Regarding the Tayouneh ambush, Nasrallah declared that it marks a “pivotal point” in the party’s dealing in internal affairs, mentioning that although “Thursday's martyrs belong to both Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, the leader of the Forces focused solely on Hezbollah." 

He explained that the appearance of trained armed militants confirms that this is “a fighting militia,” highlighting that the LF “does not care about the occurrence of a military clash nor a civil war as they both serve its agenda.”

We surrendered our necks and blood in Tayouneh to the Army and the State 

Sayyed Nasrallah said that the Forces Party “offered its services in 2017 to the former Saudi minister, Thamer al-Sabhan, to lead Lebanon into a civil war,” indicating that Geagea betrayed his ally former PM Saad Hariri during the latter's arrest in Saudi Arabia.

He revealed that the head of the LF incited some old allies months ago to confront Hezbollah, stressing that “the Forces Party does not renege the old language of war and the language of division, as it has laid the foundation for the recent crime” in Tayouneh.

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah confirmed that “Geagea's talk of a 'Christian mini May 7' incriminates him,” clarifying that all statements issued by the LF and its leader since last Thursday implicate them in the massacre.

Nasrallah also indicated that “we avoided taking security and preventive measures last Thursday given the sensitivity of the region,” noting that “we handed over our necks and blood to the army and the Lebanese state.”

The Forces Party backed Al-Nusra and the Takfiris 

The Secretary-General revealed that the Lebanese Forces Party was “the one who backed the Al-Nusra Front and the Takfiris in Lebanon and Syria,” reminding everyone of Hezbollah’s martyrs who fell in defense of Christian regions in Syria.

Sayyed Nasrallah wondered: “Who stood by the people of villages in the outskirts of Arsal, and who stood by ‘the revolutionaries’ (in reference to Takfiri militants) who were backed by the LF?”

He stressed that “Hezbollah was the one who defended the Christians at that time before the Lebanese army was even allowed to intervene.”

Stressing the efforts of Hezbollah in combatting religious and sectarian rifts, Nasrallah spoke of the Israeli withdrawal from the South in the year 2000 and the decision implemented by Hezbollah to prevent any armed member from entering Christian areas in order to appease the concerns of the inhabitants.

He revealed that this decision was heavily criticized, notably as the Hezbollah did not prosecute pro-Israeli agents who tortured and killed some of its members; yet, the party stood by its righteous decision and left the matter for the Lebanese army to handle. 

The Secretary-General pointed out that “even the supporters of the Lebanese Forces Party living in our areas were not attacked in any way.” 

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The biggest threat to the Christian presence in Lebanon is the Forces Party

Addressing the rhetoric of a “Christian existential threat”, Nasrallah assured that the only threat menacing the Christian community emanates from the Lebanese Forces Party, indicating that the LF still hopes to establish secluded sectarian cantons.

The Secretary-General stated that the LF forged alliances with the same Saudi-funded Wahhabi terrorist groups who attacked and expelled Christians in Iraq.

Describing the grim reality that awaited Christians had ISIS and Al-Nusra won, Nasrallah said that no Christians would have remained in Syria and that the two terrorist groups would have proceeded to attack Lebanon, thus highlighting the threat the LF’s alliance would have imposed. 

Following his clarification, Sayyed Nasrallah assured the Christians of Lebanon that given the aforementioned facts, “Hezbollah does not represent any threat or danger to you. Rather, the only danger stems from the Lebanese Forces party and its leader.” 

The Lebanese Forces attempted to obstruct our understanding with the FPM

“Hezbollah’s main concern was to prevent the Sunni-Shiite strife that the Lebanese Forces Party was seeking,” assured Nasrallah.

He subsequently affirmed that his party “responded to every proposal for dialogue in the country and achieved an understanding with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) in 2005.” 

The Secretary-General went on to elaborate about the Lebanese Forces' attempts to prevent this understanding as they refuse to relinquish the war-era demarcation lines in favor of lines of contact.

He noted that despite all of the LF’s efforts to sabotage the bilateral understanding, Hezbollah nonetheless welcomed the understanding between the Forces and the FPM since the party has always supported communication.

Nasrallah also brought up the 1960 electoral law, mentioning that it does not preserve the interests of Hezbollah, yet the party accepted it “for the benefit of the Christian” constituents, stressing that the one who torpedoed the orthodox electoral law was “the Lebanese Forces Party, not us.” 

He explained that “we did not place any condition on the President of the Republic in the elections,” praising Minister Suleiman Franjieh in the process as a loyal ally with a moral stance for “standing with us in the elections.”

The military structure of Hezbollah alone includes 100,000 fighters 

Sayyed Nasrallah advised the Forces Party and its leader to “abandon the idea of civil war.”
He affirmed that “LF officials admitted by their statements that they are an armed militia,” stressing that Hezbollah is now at the height of its power regionally.

He addressed the head of the Forces Party by saying: “Be aware that the military structure of Hezbollah alone includes 100,000 fighters,” pointing out that these fighters were not trained for a civil war, but rather for the defense of Lebanon against its enemies.

Nasrallah warned Geagea by telling him to avoid miscalculations and sit aside, given the end of previous military endeavors on both ends.

The Secretary-General called on “the state and all the Lebanese to stand up to this butcher and criminal in order to prevent a civil war.” 

He explained that the reveal of the number of fighters does not entail a threat but rather aims at preventing a civil war.

The Lebanese army is Lebanon's sole guarantee for survival

Speaking about the Tayouneh ambush, Sayyed Nasrallah said that “we have the right to demonstrate peacefully like everyone else, and we have established a committee of 2,000 people, not a popular call,” explaining that all that was intended is a peaceful demonstration. 

He described some of the provocative slogans launched as a mistake, but it was followed by a shooting that left 7 demonstrators dead. He pointed out that “the security services informed us that the martyrs were killed by the Lebanese Forces Party.” 

Nasrallah noted that following the start of the shooting “young men brought weapons to repel the aggressors,” stressing that “we who were unjustly killed want a serious and quick investigation regarding how the massacre was carried out, and we want those responsible to be held accountable.” 

Another point of contention discussed was the shooting of an unarmed protester by a soldier of the Lebanese army, prompting the Secretary-General to demand an investigation revealing whether “the soldier who fired on civilian demonstrators acted unilaterally or on orders.”

Nasrallah stressed that the army is “Lebanon’s sole guarantee for survival and unity,” warning that in the possibility of the army’s failure, the country would collapse.

He further detailed the US and Israeli supported LF project which hinges on a clash between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah.

The Secretary-General described the members of the Lebanese army as “our brothers and beloved ones,” pointing out that “we handed the army the responsibility of investigating the Khaldeh incident” which is expected to end within days as trials of the 18 detainees will begin.

Sayyed Nasrallah concluded by stressing that “the correct path for the martyrs of the Tayouneh massacre is the investigation and the accountability of the killers,” and vowing to retaliate against any politicization in the investigation with the proper measures.