In a statement released on Friday, the leader of Lebanese Resistance (Hezbollah) in the unicameral legislature condemned Washington’s attempts at excluding the political and military movement from the next government, as well as the claim that Israel had defeated it.

For the lawmaker, such statements are an attack on a Lebanese national component that is an integral part of the country’s unity and political life. In his response, Raad said that the US official’s comments represent a blatant interference in Lebanese sovereignty and a departure from all diplomatic norms and standards of international relations.

According to the MP, Ortagus’s hate-filled and irresponsible words reflect hostility towards a Lebanese group that confronted and defeated Israel’s aggression.

He added that Israel’s actions, with full support from US policy, undermine the credibility of democracy that the White House claims to defend everywhere and at all times.

In this regard, he added that the horrific ugliness revealed by Israel’s war against Gaza and Lebanon is enough for the world to judge who truly supports, arms and finances terrorism, displaces people from their lands and robs them of their rights.

For the leader of Loyalty to the Resistance, the winner is the one who exposed the horrific image of the aggressor: a perpetrator of genocide against civilians, children, women, safe homes and hospitals, “a force that destroys entire residential neighborhoods, an occupying invader without even the right to claim self-defense.”

Raad placed his trust in the will of the Lebanese and the commitment to the path of safeguarding the country under the equation of the army, the people and the resistance.

jg/lam/yma