Berliner Tageblatt - Hezbollah leader asks Lebanon to cancel Tuesday meeting with Israel

Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million since the Iran-backed group Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.

Lebanese authorities have stressed that Beirut first wants to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, but Israel has dismissed that prospect, saying it prefers instead to focus on formal peace talks with Lebanon itself, with which it has technically been at war for decades.

"We reject negotiations with the usurping Israeli entity," Hezbollah's Qassem, whose group has been at war with Israel since March 2, said in a televised address on Monday.

"We call for a historic and heroic stance by cancelling this negotiating meeting."

- 'Dismantle Hezbollah' -

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that "we want the dismantling of Hezbollah's weapons, and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations".

Qassem, however, said "these negotiations are futile and require a Lebanese agreement and consensus".

Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters protested on Friday and Saturday against the planned talks, accusing Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam of being a "Zionist".

"We will not surrender, we will remain in the field until our last breath," Qassem said as his fighters faced off with advancing Israeli troops seeking to create a "security zone" in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli army said on Monday that its troops had completely surrounded the key southern town of Bint Jbeil, while Hezbollah continued to claim attacks against Israeli forces there.

The Israeli military said Tuesday a soldier had been killed in southern Lebanon -- the first since a US-Iran temporary truce came into force that Israel insisted does not include the country.

Qassem said northern Israeli localities "will not be safe, even if the Israelis were to enter any area of Lebanon".

He also accused Beirut of "backstabbing" his group by declaring its military activities illegal at the start of the war.

"Israel and the US clearly said they want to strengthen the Lebanese army to disarm and fight Hezbollah... but the army cannot do that," Qassem added.

H.Seidel--BTB