Kinshasa, April 28th, 2026 (CPA).- The Lebanese head of State has affirmed on Monday that direct negotiations with Israel do not constitute a betrayal, following a call by Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem to the Lebanese authorities to reverse their decision to hold talks with Tel Aviv, international media have reported. “Betrayal is committed by those who drag their country into war to serve foreign interests. This plunges Lebanon into instability,” has declared Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese head of State. “Some criticise us for having decided to resort to this on the grounds of a lack of national consensus. When you chose war, did you first obtain that consensus?…”, he has added. The Lebanese authorities assert that the aim of the negotiations is to end the war, secure Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon and allow the return of displaced persons to their regions, whose number is estimated at over one million.
Hezbollah “categorically” rejects direct negotiations with Israel
Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has reaffirmed his rejection of direct negotiations between Beirut and Israel, arguing that they risk dragging Lebanon into a “cycle of instability”. “We categorically refuse to negotiate directly with Israel, and it is the responsibility of the Lebanese authorities to avoid a dangerous mistake that drags the country into a cycle of instability,” has declared Naim Qassem, leader of Hezbollah. “These negotiations and their outcome are as good as non-existent and concern us neither directly nor indirectly. We are continuing our resistance to defend Lebanon […] and we will not back down in the face of Israeli threats,” he has added.
Hezbollah rejects this part of the agreement and criticises the fact that it was not put to a vote within the Lebanese government, where the group is represented. “We will not give up our weapons […] and the Israeli enemy will not remain on any part of our occupied territory,” he has continued. The Shia movement has also continued to claim responsibility for sporadic attacks on Israeli positions on Lebanese soil and the firing of rockets and drones towards northern Israel.
As a reminder, Israel and Lebanon have already held two rounds of talks at ambassadorial level in Washington regarding the war into which Lebanon has been drawn since March 2nd, following Hezbollah’s rocket fire on Tel Aviv in support of Iran, which was the target of an Israeli-American offensive. These talks have led to US President Donald Trump announcing a ten-day ceasefire, which came into effect on April 17th and was subsequently extended by three weeks following the second round of discussions. Prior to the US-brokered talks, the first of their kind since 1993, Israel had stated that it had no “serious disagreements” with Lebanon, calling on it to “work together” against Hezbollah.