Sheikh Damoush: How Can A Gov’t That Can’t Protect People from Enemy Disarm Resistance in the Midst of Battle?
By Staff
The Head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, Sheikh Ali Damoush, stressed that the government’s erroneous decision to disarm the resistance lacks not only the constitutional legitimacy of the national pact, but also national consensus and is utterly irrational.
During his Friday sermon at the Sayyeda Zaynab complex in Haret Hreik, Sheikh Damoush asked:
“How can a country whose land is partly occupied by the enemy, whose people are attacked daily, whose citizens are prevented from returning to their villages and homes, and whose sons are held captive by the enemy, have a government that decides to strip it of one of its most vital sources of strength—namely, the resistance? How can a government that cannot protect its own people from a lawless enemy like the ‘Israeli’ enemy disarm the resistance while it is in the midst of battle? Is this not a departure from logic, rationality, and national interests?”
He stressed that logic, rationality, and national interests dictate that if the state possesses sources of strength, its foremost duty is to preserve them and make use of them—rather than squander them.
His Eminence continued: “We are facing an authority that serves the interests, management, and dictates of external powers—not an authority that places the interests of its own people and society at the forefront of its priorities. The government’s decision is dangerous, and we do not know its consequences; it could push the country to the brink of explosion, and the government must reverse it.”
He added: “With this decision, the government has shifted the problem from being with the ‘Israeli’ enemy to becoming an internal problem among the Lebanese themselves, thereby opening the door to a domestic trajectory fraught with risks, complications, and crises. It is true that the Lebanese are politically divided over many issues, but the government’s decision has deepened this division and set the Lebanese against one another, when in fact the government’s responsibility is to unify the Lebanese, not to aggravate their divisions.”
Sheikh Damoush added: “Today, the resistance represents a national and social identity, and a symbol of jihad built by blood, sacrifice, and martyrs. No one can erase it or strip it of its arms through a mere decision or procedure, as if it were just a technical or administrative matter. The resistance is an identity, a culture, a belonging, an act of faith and conviction—it constitutes a complete national component with a national role. Its weapons are not militia weapons used in a civil war, nor are they the kind of lawless arms that warrant rulings against them as if they were directed against the nation, when in fact they exist to serve the nation.”
His Eminence continued: “The weapons they are talking about are the very weapons that liberated a large and precious part of our land, that confronted aggression over the past four decades, that protected Lebanon, defeated the enemy, and prevented it from occupying the country.”
He stressed that “the weapons which all of ‘Israel’s’ wars failed to disarm or eliminate cannot be taken away by a handful of small tools. These weapons will remain as long as there is occupation and aggression. Let no one wager on their weakness; anyone who bets on their weakness because of regional or international shifts is mistaken and delusional.”
The Head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council declared: “We will not engage in any discussion regarding the implementation of the government’s decision because we do not recognize it, and it does not concern us. There can be no dialogue about weapons before ‘Israel’ withdraws and ends its aggression against Lebanon. Everyone must understand that the resistance does not lose its legitimacy through a government decree or an American paper. The resistance derives its legitimacy and justification from the will of its people and the true interests of its country and society. Despite all the campaigns of incitement, doubt, and political and media distortion, opinion polls continue to show that the resistance remains the choice of a large segment of the Lebanese.”
Sheikh Damoush added: “Until now, we have acted calmly and have not resorted to major protest steps, but this approach may not last much longer. We avoided escalation out of concern for stability and to give the government a chance to correct its decision—but we may take that path if it insists on pushing its decision through.”
He concluded: “Today’s stance is a Karbala-like and Hussaini position. To all the Yazidis who try to put us between two choices—between surrender or war—we say what Imam Hussain (A) said on the Day of Ashura: ‘Indeed, the wrongdoer, son of the wrongdoer, has placed us between two things: between the basket and humiliation—but far from us is humiliation.’”
