Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem says the resistance has reached a stage of "breaking the Israeli project," and the occupation has no choice but to fully withdraw from all Lebanese territory, Press TV reported.
"We are now in a new phase in the history of Lebanon, its Resistance, its army, its people, and its future, a phase called 'Breaking the Israeli Project,'" Sheikh Qassem said in a televised address on Tuesday.
He said the project that sought to eliminate Hezbollah "militarily, politically, culturally, socially, and humanly" over the past two to three years had failed.
"This does not mean they will not try again or that there will not be other phases, but there was a major project called the military, political, cultural, social, and human elimination of Hezbollah, and erasing its existence and the existence of all those with it on the path to Greater Israel. This project has been broken."
Sheikh Qassem said the Israeli occupation has no choice but to withdraw entirely from Lebanese soil.
"We now have a ceasefire. The withdrawal must take place according to a timetable. Israel has no choice but to fully withdraw from all Lebanese territory, without retaining an inch," he said, referring to the Iran-US agreement, which stipulates an end to the war on Lebanon.
He said the ceasefire must be followed by a complete Israeli withdrawal, making way for the Lebanese Army to deploy south of the Litani River.
"Israel withdraws and the Lebanese Army deploys exclusively south of the Litani River."
The Hezbollah chief rejected any arrangement that would allow the occupation to retain any part of Lebanese land under any pretext.
"We will not accept the occupation retaining a single inch under any title."
He also put a premium on a complete end to aggression by land, sea and air, and the deployment of the Lebanese Army across the south.
Sheikh Qassem credited the resistance's steadfastness on the battlefield for the breakthrough.
"Had the Resistance not been on the battlefield, we would not have reached this result," he said.
He acknowledged the heavy price paid. "Had we not had Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and the martyred leaders, the wounded, the captives, and the great families that rallied around the Resistance, we would not have broken the project."
bd-pratidin/GR
