Kataeb political bureau member Joelle Bou Abboud described the current situation as “negative”, saying that U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein’s tone during his visit to Beirut forebodes furhter escalation.

"The scope of the cross-border military operations is expanding and there is a heightened escalation on both sides. Hezbollah’s ‘Hoopoe’ message today was clear,” Bou Abboud said in an interview on OTV channel on Tuesday. 

The Kataeb member noted that the problem lies in Hezbollah’s unilateral decision to drag Lebanon into a war from which it is difficult to extricate, depicting the current confrontation as complicated given that Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah is linking the halt of fire on the Lebanese border to a ceasefire in Gaza, and that Israel is considering this conflict as existential.

"Does humanitarian support for Gaza mean that the same thing that happened there would also take place in Lebanon?"

Bou Abboud reiterated that Hezbollah had decided to take Lebanon to war without seeking anyone's approval, emphasizing that Lebanon is now paying a heavy price that was not agreed upon.

“Neither the government nor the parliament convened to discuss this war that will determine Lebanon's future,” she deplored, pointing out that the difference between the events of 1982 and today is that now Lebanon is the one provoking Israel into war.

“A lot of Lebanese no longer want to bear the cost of the Palestinian cause,” she said.

Bou Abboud stressed that no Arab country has turned itself into a proxy theater and a staging ground in support of Gaza as Hezbollah has, lamenting the ongoing double-standard policy in the country where compensations are given to one group and not to another.

“The Kataeb Party did not go to Syria, Palestine, or Yemen but defended Lebanon on its soil against occupations and against the Palestinians’ attempt to turn Lebanon into an alternative homeland,” she said.

Turning to presidential consultations, Bou Abboud stressed that the Kataeb Party has always been open to dialogue, voicing concern, however, over attempts to establish unconstitutional norms.

"The dialogue called for by Speaker Nabih Berri is being institutionalized, and we oppose it for three reasons: firstly, it is unconstitutional; secondly, we are against establishing the custom of holding a dialogue prior to every election; and thirdly, if the dialogue fails, all participants will be held responsible for the failure to elect a president, whereas the reality is that some are obstructing the quorum and the elections,” Bou Abboud said, regretting that the country is paralyzed every time an election is due.

She noted that Hezbollah does not want a president to be elected soon because it wants to continue deciding everything unilaterally and does not want a head of State questioning its actions amid the ongoing border escalation.