PM Salam to Al Hadath: Each Hezbollah rocket costs Lebanon 10,000 displaced people

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the government will not back down from its decision to restrict weapons to the authority of the Lebanese state, while confirming that Lebanon is seeking direct negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

In an interview with Al Hadath, Salam said that the issue of restricting weapons has become more urgent following the heavy cost of what he described as the “support war,” adding that the government has effectively dropped the concept of a ban on negotiations with Israel.

Salam said there is still no set agenda for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, but confirmed that the Lebanese initiative to negotiate remains on the table. He added that Lebanon is working to form a unified national delegation to conduct negotiations, stressing that the goal of direct talks would be to reach a ceasefire and secure Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.

The prime minister also addressed internal political tensions, saying there had been no shouting or confrontation with the army commander, and stressed that he is not calling for a confrontation with Hezbollah, but said he would not accept being subjected to political pressure or “blackmail.”

Salam also said that each of Hezbollah’s six rockets fired during the conflict resulted in the displacement of 10,000 Lebanese civilians, highlighting the scale of displacement caused by the war. He added that the ministerial statement, which affirmed the principle of restricting weapons to the state, had received the confidence of Hezbollah, but the party’s rockets, in addition to the extensive damage they caused, also threatened the government’s credibility.

He concluded by saying that accusations that the government had failed in its duties toward displaced people were aimed at diverting attention away from holding Hezbollah accountable.