Nasrallah's Call for Dialogue over Defense Strategy Is Widely Rejected by Lebanese Parties

Hezbollah supporters pose for a photo with its flags in Sahl al-Khiyam (Khiyam plain) in southern Lebanon on May 25, 2022, near the northern Israeli town of Metula across the border (Background). (AFP)
Hezbollah supporters pose for a photo with its flags in Sahl al-Khiyam (Khiyam plain) in southern Lebanon on May 25, 2022, near the northern Israeli town of Metula across the border (Background). (AFP)
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Nasrallah's Call for Dialogue over Defense Strategy Is Widely Rejected by Lebanese Parties

Hezbollah supporters pose for a photo with its flags in Sahl al-Khiyam (Khiyam plain) in southern Lebanon on May 25, 2022, near the northern Israeli town of Metula across the border (Background). (AFP)
Hezbollah supporters pose for a photo with its flags in Sahl al-Khiyam (Khiyam plain) in southern Lebanon on May 25, 2022, near the northern Israeli town of Metula across the border (Background). (AFP)

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah's call on Lebanese political forces to hold dialogue over a national defense strategy has been widely rejected by his rivals.

In remarks marking "Resistance and Liberation" Day on Wednesday, Nasrallah suggested that the dialogue would pave the way for Lebanon to drill for offshore gas and oil.

"Lebanon has a massive oil and gas wealth and we are by standing idly while the enemy [Israel] is signing contracts with the European Union to provide gas to replace Russia's," he remarked.

"Lebanon's problems can only be resolved through the gas and oil in its regional waters. So let us see how we can extract and protect it," he stated.

His call was widely rejected by opponents, who cited previous rounds of dialogue over a defense strategy, held in 2006, 2008 and 2011.

Instead of new talks and "wasting time", they suggested the implementation of the agreements reached during those dialogue sessions. They added that Lebanon has pressing internal crises that need to be addressed, such as negotiations with the IMF, approving reforms and tackling the electricity file

Lebanese Forces MP Fadi Karam described dialogue as a "waste of time".

Hezbollah has proposed dialogue to "avert attention from the results of the parliamentary elections that proved that the people reject the party and its weapons," he added to Asharq Al-Awsat.

The polls confirmed that the people "long to build a real state, one that is sovereign and where weapons and the decisions of war and peace are limited to it and the army."

Hezbollah and its allies lost their parliamentary majority in the elections, with the LF and independent opposition newcomers emerging as the main winners.

Nasrallah's proposal is aimed at "wasting time and the opportunities that were created by the elections, during which the Lebanese voted for Lebanon and the beginning of recovery," continued Karam.

Moreover, he declared that dialogue with Hezbollah "is rejected because we have tried so in the past," but it insisted on "wasting time and squandering opportunities."

The 2011 dialogue outcomes that called for Lebanon's neutrality and its disassociation from region conflicts were dashed by Hezbollah, which did not respect those agreements, he added.

"Hezbollah practices politics based on Iran's instructions and the interests of the Iranian negotiator," he remarked.

The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) shared Karam's view, stressing at the same time that it backs dialogue between Lebanese parties.

PSP sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that none of the dialogue outcomes have been respected in recent years and in the end, it turned out that these talks were a "waste of time".

Dialogue was held in 2006 at the invitation of parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. It was held again in 2011 at the invite of then President Michel Suleiman.

"We no longer have the luxury of time to hold dialogue for the sake of dialogue," added the sources.

"We need to approve a defense strategy and not just hold talks over it. Once approved, we can discuss other issues," they suggested.

"There can be no reform without sovereignty," they stated.

Lebanese parties insist that the decision of war and peace should be restricted to the state. The possession of weapons and defending Lebanon should be restricted to the army and state institutions. They refuse for Lebanon to be an open arena for regional wars and conflicts.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, insists on keeping its weapons. It has called for drafting a defense strategy to resist Israel should any attack happen.



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.