Hezbollah Supporters Block Roads, Encircle Government Buildings In Beirut Over Israel Deal: ‘They Sold Us Out’

Mass protests broke out in Beirut on Friday into Saturday, with supporters of Hezbollah voicing their outrage at the Lebanese government having just signed a ‘trilateral peace framework’ with Israel and the United States, despite the IDF occupation of southern territory and sporadic Israeli bombings persisting. 

Hundreds of motorcycle-riding supporters were also seen circling streets through central Beirut, near the parliament building and along airport road. In some cases protesters blocked roads near sensitive government buildings, and were seen burning tires. The national army has set up checkpoints, seeking to return order, but in some cases didn’t immediately move to disperse the protests.

“We certainly condemn and denounce this shameful agreement,” a 30-year old protesters from Blida, a town in southern Lebanon that Israel has occupied for months, told the NY Times. According to more:

One criticism of the preliminary deal is that the timeline for Israel’s withdrawal is not fixed, instead being based on how quickly Hezbollah can be disarmed. “The enemy is being granted freedom of movement and the ability to make whatever decisions it wants in the south,” Mr. Kassem said.

Washington has long been seeking to push Hezbollah’s influence out of national politics, and to ultimately see the Iran-backed group disarmed and its power neutered.

The protester’s have in turn exclaimed: 

“They sold us out!”

The Trump administration and Israel have been hailing it as ‘historic’ – also as the US is seeking to ensure the conflict in Lebanon won’t derail the broader peace deal with Iran, toward getting the Strait of Hormuz open again.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has meanwhile in new denunciatory words on Saturday charged that Lebanon’s government has given legitimacy to Israel’s “occupation for many years to come” by signing the deal.

“This could even lead to the annexation of these lands to the Zionist entity,” Qassem said. “We say to the Lebanese authorities: It is time for you to retract your sins that are destroying Lebanon.”

The Hezbollah Secretary-General vowed to remain “ready to cooperate and stand together for the sovereignty of Lebanon, the liberation of its land, the expulsion of the Israeli occupier.”

He also said that the US deal links Israel’s withdrawal to Hezbollah’s disarmament throughout Lebanon, which “is an extremely dangerous proposition that crosses all red lines and makes Lebanon a pawn in the hands of the Israeli enemy.”

“The authorities are legitimizing the occupation for many years to come, and this could even lead to the annexation of these lands to the Zionist entity. Any agreement must be confined to the area south of the Litani River,” he added, stressing the Shia paramilitary group’s resistance to these developments will be steadfast.

Hezbollah had all along refused to be at the table for the Washington-hosted talks, and it accused Israel of a war of aggression on Lebanese territory, with an aim to expand Israel’s borders.