Rubio: Hezbollah trying to ‘drag Lebanon back into chaos’ through war, call to oust government
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Hezbollah in a statement Sunday of trying to plunge Lebanon “back into chaos” by continuing to fight against Israel and by calling to overthrow the Lebanese government.
Rubio denounced what he called Hezbollah’s “reckless call to overthrow Lebanon’s democratically elected government” and said the Iran-backed terror group was “actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction.”
“Hizballah has ignored repeated calls from the legitimate Government of Lebanon to cease its attacks and respect a ceasefire,” Rubio’s statement said, using an alternate spelling of the terror group’s name. “Instead, it has continued firing on Israeli positions and moving fighters and weapons into southern Lebanon. This is a deliberate campaign to destabilize the country and maintain its power at the expense of the future of the Lebanese people.”
Naim Qassem, the leader of Hezbollah, had said earlier that “the people have the right to go down onto the streets and to bring down the government” in response to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets and US sanctions on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution.
Al-Qard Al-Hassan is affiliated with the terror group. It provides interest-free loans to mainly Shia Muslim communities that have faced financial difficulty amid Lebanon’s economic crises.
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