Hezbollah deputy Chief says war with Israel 'not imminent' in Beirut interview
Qassem said "it does not appear that the circumstances are for an Israeli decision for war"
Deputy leader of Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Qassem said war with Israel is "not imminent" and yet Hezbollah is "always ready for it," speaking in an interview with Reuters news agency.
The Shiia militia was created to fight the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon more than three decades ago and has last confronted Israel in an all out war in 2006.
Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria seven years ago, Hezbollah has however been concentrated on supporting the Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad with thousands of fighters sent from Lebanon.
“There is no solution in Syria under the title of ‘excluding President Assad’. On the contrary, the solution in Syria is with President Assad, and he is the mandatory channel for the solution,” Qassem said in the interview with Reuters.
Speaking of the possibility of a new confrontation with Israel he said Hezbollah "is ready to confront the aggression if it happens, if Israel decides to carry out any foolish action, but it does not appear that the circumstances are for an Israeli decision for war.”
Hezbollah, branded a "terrorist" organization by the United States, poses a threat to the security of Lebanon and its involvement in regional conflicts is a destabilizing influence in the Middle East, former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during his Middle East trip last month.
"Hezbollah is not just a concern for the United States. The people of Lebanon should also be concerned about how Hezbollah's actions, its growing arsenal, bring unwanted and unhelpful scrutiny on Lebanon," Tillerson said in Beirut.
"Their presence in Syria has perpetuated the bloodshed, increased the displacement of innocent people and propped up the barbaric Assad regime," Tillerson said at a news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Hezbollah's influence was also at the heart of a political crisis in Lebanon over Hariri's shock resignation announced from Saudi Arabia in November that was later rescinded.