Kataeb political bureau member, Joelle Bou Abboud, on Wednesday dismissed Hezbollah’s purported strategy to distract Israel from its focus on Gaza, saying that what the group is doing is inflicting damage on Lebanon more than Israel.

"Setting fire to areas in northern Israel does neither support Gaza nor distract Israel from its killings in Gaza and Rafah. Israel is carrying on its crimes and is expanding the war in southern Lebanon,” Bou Abboud said in an interview on Spot Shot YouTube channel.

"We have suffered from this war more than Israel has. We have lost our economy, our tourism season, our students who cannot attend school, our burnt agricultural fields, and our destroyed homes," she added.

She pointed out that "before Hezbollah's actions, there were Israeli violations, and Israel was not fully complying with international resolutions. Today, the situation is worse. Our goal was the full implementation of UNSC Resolution 1701 so that we could move to a second phase where the armistice agreement between the two countries would be reinstated, the land borders would be delineated, and progress could be made forward rather than backward."

"If Israel had initiated the war on Lebanon on October 8, we would have stood by the Lebanese State in confronting Israel and supported the Lebanese army. Hezbollah would not have been alone in this confrontation. The difference is that Hezbollah unilaterally decided to start the war without consulting anyone, and our problem lies in this approach, which the party began in 2006 and continues until today. What Hezbollah did was a mistake that should not have been repeated,” she added.

Bou Abboud emphasized that "the Lebanese army is capable of confronting Israel and has always been so. The army has a different doctrine from Hezbollah's; its mission is to protect the borders, not to attack Israel. The army has legitimacy and would garner national support, thus avoiding criticism that is currently directed at Hezbollah."

She noted that Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has an attitude of arrogance and superiority in dealing with the Lebanese, comparing himself to them with his military and numerical strength, thereby sending a threatening message to the Lebanese.

“Following the American initiative to resolve the crisis in Gaza, there were two responses from the resistance axis: the first came from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who rejected any solution at the current time, and the second from his Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, who considered resistance as the basis of stability in the region, meaning also that they reject the initiative. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority opposes this stance, indicating that Iran is steering the course of this war."

Bou Abboud explained that there are two approaches regarding the existence of Israel: the first believes in the necessity of Israel's demise and the second supports the two-state solution, “which is exactly what the Palestinian people and the international community are demanding.”

“The problem lies in the extremism on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides. We, as the Lebanese Kataeb Party, support the two-state solution. If peace is achieved between the Palestinians and Israel, then why should we remain at war with Israel? This is what party leader Samy Gemayel meant by his remarks about peace with Israel.”

On internal matters, Bou Aboud pointed out that "the other side is trying to disrupt the presidential elections, either by claiming that the Christians have not agreed on a single candidate or by insisting on holding a dialogue before the election, which undermines the spirit of the Constitution.”

“We do not want dialogue to be a condition but rather to be used under specific parameters, knowing that Hezbollah does not want a president to continue acting unilaterally. If they accept a president, they want one who protects the resistance and legitimizes its actions."

"We must raise our voices and reject the reality imposed on us, just as we did in 2005 when we confronted and expelled the Syrians from Lebanon. We can face the situation without resorting to arms,” she stressed.

"After the Gaza war ends, Hezbollah must come under the State’s authority and become part of it. The question is, will it do so or continue to live in its own mini-state?"