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Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in an August 28, 2023 speech aired by Spot Shot (Lebanon) that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) "is working" for Israel and violating Lebanon's sovereignty. He questioned why the "champions" of Lebanese sovereignty remain silent in the face of UNIFIL, which is a foreign armed force operating freely without the permission of Lebanon's army and government. In response to criticism that Hizbullah is an armed foreign force, he replied that Hizbullah is a local "Lebanese force."
Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah: "The distinguished Security Council – especially because of the actions and role of the United States – is unable to see. It is blind. It does not see what Israel is doing in Lebanon, the aerial violations, the maritime violations, the attacks along the border the threats, the reoccupation and annexation of northern Ghajar and other vast lands, using barbed wire and walls.
"The Americans see none of this. The Americans care only about making Southern Lebanon safe – in the sense that it would not endanger or threaten the enemy entity. [They want South Lebanon] to have no defense or resistance capabilities. This is what the Americans want.
"This is why they want UNIFIL to work for Israel. They want UNIFIL to spy for Israel. They want UNIFIL to replace the Israelis in places where they cannot... [Israel's] drones are not as effective as they have been in the past, and their spies also have various problems. Where Israel's drones, spies, and cameras cannot reach in order to obtain information, UNIFIL's cameras are meant to replace them.
"We have tolerated all of this because of the official political situation in Lebanon. Some Lebanese believe that UNIFIL's presence is a national interest of Lebanon. But this is debatable. How come UNIFIL is present only here, in Lebanon, and not [on the other side of the border], in northern Palestine? After all, it was [the Israelis] who attacked us and started the war against Lebanon. We thank the Lebanese government for striving to repair the mistake made last year – the decision that allows UNIFIL the complete freedom of movement, independence of the Lebanese government or army.
"Obviously, the so-called champions of Lebanese sovereignty kept silent about this. This is a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty. An armed foreign force is operating on Lebanese soil without the permission of the Lebanese government or army, and without coordination with the Lebanese army. Tell me, champions of sovereignty, where is the sovereignty in this?
"Now some wise guy might say that [Hizbullah] is also a military force. We are a Lebanese force, we are the Lebanese people, we are locals. We are not a foreign force."
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