Hezbollah’s weapons have nothing to do with fighting Israel or protecting Lebanon, and everything to do with maintaining the group’s grip on power in Lebanon, according to Lebanese MP Wehbe Katicha.
Speaking with Lebanon’s OTV on Aug. 3, Katicha, a retired Lebanese Armed Forces general, said Hezbollah served Iran, not Lebanon, despite its claims to be acting in Lebanese or Palestinian interests were mere lies.
With regard to the Palestinians, Katicha said that there was no reason for Lebanon to take the lead.
“Why should four million Lebanese bear the brunt of this [Palestinian] cause, when there are 400 million Arabs around us?,” he said.
When asked by the interviewer about Lebanon’s territorial and maritime disputes with Israel, Katicha was blunt: “Will Hezbollah’s weapons get us our sea and the Shebaa Farms back?”
When the interviewer responded that Hezbollah’s arms were “for deterrence,” Katicha was dismissive.
“You’re talking to a military man,” said the MP. “How many missiles does Hezbollah have? One hundred and fifty thousand to 200,000 missiles? If missiles could help the Palestinian cause, Egypt would have brought 10 million missiles.”
Iraq, Jordan and Syria, too, would have added their missile arsenals.
“How are 150,000 missiles supposed to help the Lebanese cause against Israel, when Egypt’s millions of missiles failed to do anything?,” he said.
The idea of a “balance of terror” between Israel and Hezbollah, said Katicha, was nothing but a lie.
“That’s a big lie they tell … the truth is, Hezbollah’s weapons control the country. It has taken the country hostage and prisoner, in order to incorporate it into the Iranian-Syrian axis,” he said.
“That’s how we got to where we are today. That’s the entire story.”