Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel on Friday accused Hezbollah of defying the law and undermining State authority by repeatedly invoking the threat of civil unrest whenever Lebanese institutions seek to enforce their decisions.

“Any threat to civil peace is, in reality, a threat against the State. We will not give in to this blackmail or be intimidated by these threats,” Gemayel said after a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi at Bkirki

Gemayel questioned whether the State should bow to threats whenever it attempts to exercise its authority or stand firm in enforcing the law.

He said repeated warnings that civil peace could be endangered by State action effectively meant that certain parties were refusing to abide by the law and rejecting equality among Lebanese citizens.

“The choice is clear: either the state exercises its authority and applies the law equally to everyone, or its authority and the Constitution are undermined,” he said.

Gemayel warned that allowing threats to civil peace to obstruct official decisions would set a dangerous precedent, enabling any party to block measures taken by State institutions. Such a logic, he said, could eventually prevent the authorities from acting even in cases involving the removal of illegal encroachments on public property.

He stressed that civil peace could not be protected through intimidation or by allowing parties to operate outside the law. Rather, it depended on strong state institutions, respect for the Constitution, equality among citizens and the State's exclusive control over weapons.

The Kataeb leader urged President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam not to yield to such pressure, insisting that the State must retain the authority to implement its decisions.

Gemayel also reiterated his party’s demand that the case of an explosives-laden truck seized in Lebanon be referred to the Judicial Council. He said the party would continue raising the issue at every Cabinet meeting until the referral is approved.

He argued that bringing explosives into the country constituted a violation of the law, regardless of whether they were intended for military use or security operations inside Lebanon.

Military use, he said, would violate the State’s decision prohibiting Hezbollah from carrying out military operations, while the use of explosives in domestic security operations would pose a threat to national security and challenge the authority of the State, the law and the Constitution.

Gemayel reaffirmed the Kataeb Party’s commitment to restoring State sovereignty over all Lebanese territory and ensuring that weapons remain exclusively in the hands of the State.

He concluded by pledging that the party would continue its campaign for a Lebanon free of unauthorized weapons and threats, where citizens could live in stability without the fear of war.

The Kataeb delegation, headed by Gemayel and including MP Salim Sayegh and party Secretary-General Walid Fares, also offered condolences to al-Rahi and the family of Father Samir Daou, who was murdered in Jbeil. The delegation expressed hope that security and judicial authorities would uncover the circumstances of the killing.

Gemayel also invited the patriarch to preside over a Mass marking the 20th anniversary of the assassination of former minister Pierre Amin Gemayel. The service is scheduled to take place at St. George’s Church in Beirut on November 21.