Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Political Activist Dr. Naji Hayek: Hizbullah Uses Its Weapons For Economic Gain, Which Is Harmful to Lebanon; Ways To Manage Those Weapons Should Be Agreed Upon Before FPM-Hizbullah Relations Are Restored

Lebanese political activist Dr. Naji Hayek, who is affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement, said in an interview that was posted to the Bel Moubashar YouTube channel on January 19, 2023, that the Shi'ites are Hizbullah's top priority, followed by the Sunnis, with the Christians being their lowest priority. He said that Hizbullah uses its weapons for its benefit, and that goods in Beirut's Hizbullah-controlled suburb of Dahiyeh are much cheaper than anywhere else because Hizbullah imports them through border crossings that it controls. He also said that the defense of Lebanon is the right of all Lebanese people, and that the current situation in which Hizbullah controls its own weapons must be changed for him to change his view regarding Hizbullah.

Dr. Naji Hayek: "The Shi'ites are [Hizbullah's] political and economic priorities. Then come the Sunnis. This is because of the Shi'ite-Sunni problems. We [Christians] come last. They do not behave like Lebanese. They have an agenda.

"In addition, they do not use their weapons only for defending Lebanon. They use these weapons for their own benefit. When I go to [Hizbullah-controlled] Dahiyeh suburb in southern Beirut..."

Interviewer: "You sound like Samir Geagea..."

Hayek: "No, no... When I go to the Dahiyeh suburb in southern Beirut, I can buy goods for a much cheaper price. This is because [Hizbullah] brings things through the border crossings it controls under the pretext that this is part of the resistance and the war effort. They are harming me economically — me and the Lebanese people as a whole."

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Interviewer: "So you will not restore your normal relations with Hizbullah?"

Hayek: "It is not my decision to make."

Interviewer: "And what if you were asked regarding your personal opinion?"

Hayek: "In my opinion, some things need to be clarified first. [Former Foreign] Minister Gebran Bassil talked about this a while ago. There should be an agreement on the mechanism of managing Hizbullah's weapons. It is impossible that Hizbullah's weapons... I'm talking about our defense strategy. It is impossible for Hizbullah's weapons to be controlled by... I don't know by whom. Even if it is Hassan Nasrallah. The defense of Lebanon is the right of all Lebanese."