MP George Okais rebuffs Sheikh Naim Qassem’s rhetoric, affirms trust in Lebanese army

Lebanese MP George Okais said the current government has tasked the army with drafting plans to implement the ceasefire agreement previously negotiated by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. 

He noted that the main decision was made on November 27, 2024, with Berri as the negotiator, before being referred to former Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s cabinet, which approved it unanimously — including ministers from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement. 

The document now on the table, he added, is a continuation of that decision.

Responding to Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem in an interview with LBCI, Okais said he respects the Shiite faith “but not when it is imposed on me.”

He argued that the matter concerns national security and that decisions affecting all citizens should not be made without consulting them, nor should any belief be imposed by force.

Okais expressed full confidence in the Lebanese army, saying it has the training and national integrity to carry out any defensive mission, as it has demonstrated since 1975. However, he warned that the primary concern remains “whether there will be a state in Lebanon at all.”