Hezbollah secretary general Sheikh Naim Qassem has called on the Lebanese authorities to abandon direct talks with Israel. The respective statement was published on the Telegram channel of this Shiite movement.

“[The [Lebanese] authorities] are obliged to stop direct talks with the enemy and switch to mediated negotiations,” Qassem stressed.

Also, he noted that the Lebanese government should return to domestic dialogue and cancel the decision banning Hezbollah’s armed wing, which, according to him, is resisting Israeli aggression.

"The [Lebanese] authorities must put national interests above all else and revoke the shameful decision of March 2, which outlawed Hezbollah fighters," the Hezbollah leader stressed.

In addition, Qassem called on the Lebanese government to engage in dialogue with the aim of confronting the "American-Israeli conspiracy" through internal unity.