Bassil: Pressure must be applied to the "Party" in a way that makes it part of the state and its decision-making

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Gebran Bassil said that "the Lebanese government must adopt a fair and balanced position between the reality imposed on the ground and its desire to reach peace."

Bassil explained in an interview with CNN: "This matter must take into account the Israeli government's desire to reach a just solution, because a just solution requires, on the one hand, that Israel have its security and its rights, and on the other hand, that Lebanon regain all of its rights, that the land be liberated from Israeli occupation forces, that Israeli attacks cease, and that the displaced be allowed to return to their villages," adding: "A demonstration of good faith by Israel would be a full withdrawal from Lebanese territory in compliance with the 2024 ceasefire agreement." He said that "this is necessary, and afterward we can discuss how to lay the foundations for a just and lasting peace."

Regarding Hezbollah's weapons, Bassil said that "the weapons are linked to two issues. On the one hand, the party is not merely an armed militia; it is also a community and an environment, and it has acquired its strength and capabilities through the legitimacy granted to it by the state over a long period of time. Disarming such a group is not something that can be achieved 'at the push of a button,' especially when it is surrounded by its environment and community." He noted that "we want to restore the state's exclusive control over weapons, but we do not want to be dragged into a civil war, and that is the whole difference."

He said that "if Israel is seriously talking about real peace with Lebanon, then we must not have a weak and fragmented state; rather, we must have a strong state capable of building real peace, not only between Lebanon and Israel, but also between the peoples of the two countries."

He said: "This cannot be achieved through the war crimes Israel commits daily, nor through cooperation between Israel and Lebanon against one component of Lebanese society."

Bassil also stressed that "we must push Hezbollah to engage in a political path, in which all military, security, financial, and economic elements are on the table," and said: "We must also pressure Hezbollah in a way that makes it part of the Lebanese state and its decision-making, not dominant over Lebanon or controlling its decisions, but rather part of the state's institutions."

In response to a question about what would prompt Hezbollah to lay down its arms, Bassil stressed that "at the present time, this is not on their minds." He continued: "But we must work on putting it there, and we must introduce into their thinking that they have no choice but to be part of the Lebanese consensus on building a strong state. That can be done by convincing them that Lebanon will be protected without their weapons, through international guarantees and United Nations resolutions, as well as through defense agreements with international powers such as the United States, and through internal consensus on a security strategy that defends Lebanon. Most importantly, it will be protected through its neutralization, meaning not becoming involved in any external conflict in the region, whether Israeli or Iranian."

Bassil added: "All Lebanese must be convinced that we should not be appendages of any external powers. We are an independent state that can live in neutrality and spread peace, prosperity, and stability instead of spreading wars and conflicts."

Asked about the US sanctions imposed on him, he said they are "political, and the reason is that I took a position aimed at preserving national unity in Lebanon."

He continued: "We have paid a heavy price to avoid a civil war in Lebanon, and we do not want to witness once again conflict between Lebanese regions or between components of Lebanese society. We only want to preserve our country and our society across the whole of Lebanon, all 10,452 square kilometers. We must do everything in our power to be a free state, not subordinate to any external power and not subject to the control of any internal force such as Hezbollah, and not be forced to follow external agendas that could threaten our unity and security."