Camille Dre Chamoun, a Lebanese Christian Maronite lawmaker, said the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah was dragging Lebanon into a war with Israel at Tehran’s behest. He declared that three-quarters of Lebanese people oppose Hezbollah and that Sunnis, Druze and Christians could unite to act to defend Lebanon’s interests against Hezbollah’s actions, and could mobilize 20,000 fighters if necessary.
In a fiery interview with Al-Mashhad TV (UAE) on Thursday, Shamoon blamed the ongoing conflict with Israel on the country’s terrorist group Hezbollah and its Iranian backing. report According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
The prominent Lebanese politician claimed that the decision to launch attacks on Israel from Lebanon was orchestrated by Hezbollah, or “Hizb-i-Iran,” as he called it, implying Iranian control over the group.
“The decision to launch a war against Israel from our southern border was made by Hezbollah — or maybe we should call it Hezbollah Iran — because I think Allah wants nothing to do with this country,” he said.
He also stressed that Lebanon cannot bear the economic burden of the conflict, saying “those who took the decision to start this war should bear full responsibility.”
“I am talking about Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is behind everything that is happening in southern Lebanon and, of course, the Gaza Strip,” he added.
Chamoun sent a direct message to Hezbollah, noting that “75 percent of Lebanese people are against Hezbollah’s existence, its weapons, its attitude towards the Lebanese state and the war it embroils in.”
“You serve Iran’s interests, we serve Lebanon’s interests,” he claimed.
He further suggested that his country was ready if Hezbollah wanted to negotiate or divide the country.
“This is the reality and we are not going to give up. If you want to negotiate, fine. If you want to divide the country, go ahead. We have no problem with that. We are more prepared than you,” he insisted. “We have weapons, we have soldiers. We have everything we need.”
“Furthermore, we represent more than 75 percent of the country,” he reiterated.
When pressed by the interviewer who accused him of “declaring war” against Hezbollah, Shamoon acknowledged the seriousness of his words and the existence of armed forces ready for action.
“They know full well that at zero hour they can send 20,000 fighters onto the streets, separate from the Lebanese army, which will split in two again like in 1975,” he added.
He made it clear that the fighters come from different Lebanese communities, including Sunnis, Druze and Christians, and are ready to act unitedly if necessary.
“We rely on ourselves. [prominent Lebanese Christian Maronite politician and leader of the Lebanese Forces party] doctor [Samir] “Geagea is also fully prepared,” he said.
“We are well prepared,” he added. “We don’t have rockets to threaten Tel Aviv or beyond, but we have personal weapons that we have had and that other countries have.”
Previously, Chamon credit Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982 was aimed at resolving the country’s “Palestinian problem.”
The issue comes as Israel continues its fight to dismantle Hamas in the Gaza Strip after an unprecedented massacre by Hamas on October 7 – the worst attack on Jews since the Nazi Holocaust.
In a multi-pronged attack in October, some 3,000 terrorists entered Israel by land, sea and air, shooting hundreds of attendees at an outdoor music festival while others went house-to-house searching for Jewish men, women and children in local towns, torturing, raping, executing, immolating and kidnapping them.
The massacre, reminiscent of the Nazi-era Holocaust, left around 1,200 people dead and more than 4,800 more dead inside the Jewish state. InjuredAt least 241 hostages of all ages have been taken, nearly half of whom remain in Gaza. The majority of the victims are civilians. include Dozens of American citizens.
The following day, Hezbollah fired guided rockets and artillery shells at Israel in retaliation for the war between Israel and Hamas that began the previous day. Since then, clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have intensified, significantly escalating tensions in the region and resulting in mass displacement of people due to cross-border gunfights between Lebanon and Israel.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite Islamist political party and terrorist organization, has significant influence in Lebanon, effectively shaping the country’s political and security environment, and is often recognized as a state within a state. The organization’s military capabilities have grown significantly, at times exceeding those of the Lebanese Army. With Iranian support and political backing from Syria, the organization has expanded its activities beyond Lebanon, particularly participating in the Syrian civil war alongside the Assad regime.
Hezbollah is designated a terrorist organization by more than a dozen countries and international organizations, including major Western countries, European Union member states, and most Arab League member states, for its involvement in terrorist activities targeting the United States, France, Israel, and other countries.
This has created significant security concerns for Israel and has put it in conflict with the United States.
In 1983, Hezbollah bombed the Beirut Marine Barracks in Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. soldiers, one of the deadliest attacks against the United States before 9/11.
At a White House event in 2018 marking the 35th anniversary of the attack, then-President Donald Trump said: stated “Other than al Qaeda, no other terrorist group has shed so much American blood.”
In February, Lebanese terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah Claimed The Hezbollah attack has forced 100,000 Israelis to flee and threatens to leave another two million homeless, part of an escalating series of threats against Israel from Beirut since October 7.
Meanwhile, former Lebanese President Michel Aoun Hit Hezbollah condemned the relentless attacks on Israel, saying “no one party can make decisions in such a conflict alone,” and noted that Lebanon has no obligation to protect Palestinians based in Gaza because it “has no treaty with Gaza.”
In December, Middle East analyst and commentator Caroline Glick Warned The Biden administration has proposed “the defeat of Israel” in the north of the country and will effectively “stand with Hezbollah against Israel,” he said, noting that its proposed solution to the Israeli-Lebanese conflict could strengthen Hezbollah and threaten both Israel and the United States.
Lebanon has been plagued by a four-year economic crisis that has left it facing severe shortages of fuel, medicine and basic goods and a 95 percent plunge in the value of its currency that has brought the country’s financial system to a halt. With 75 percent of its people living in poverty, the International Monetary Fund has warned that the country could slip into hyperinflation unless urgent measures are taken.
Moreover, Lebanon has been without a president since President Aoun’s term ended in October 2022 as parliament has not selected a successor.
In October, Lebanon’s caretaker economy minister, Amin Salam, Warned He warned that fighting with Israel would plunge Lebanon into “dark times”, saying the crisis-stricken, “fragile” country “cannot afford war”.
He said even a “small escalation” would mean Lebanon would pay a “very heavy price.”
On Tuesday, Hezbollah released drone footage of northern Israel, including the port of Haifa and sensitive military facilities, after tensions escalated when the Israel Defense Forces shot down what appeared to be a drone over Western Galilee.
Hezbollah released a video showing a single reconnaissance drone flying over northern Israel, including the port of Haifa. pic.twitter.com/7UxfpiX3Io
— Emmanuel (Manny) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 18, 2024
Meanwhile, U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein met Amid rising cross-border tensions, he met with Hezbollah-aligned Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut to urge de-escalation with Israel.
The issue was addressed by the Israel Defense Forces Warning Warning that intensifying Hezbollah attacks were pushing the region towards a wider conflict “with potentially devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region,” IDF spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari vowed that Israel would guarantee the safe return of its citizens to northern border towns.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter. Joshua Klein.
