Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel on Thursday voiced firm backing for Lebanon’s president and government, as well as for ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at stabilizing the country, while sharply criticizing Hezbollah and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri over what he described as Lebanon’s worsening political and security trajectory.

Speaking after a meeting with President Joseph Aoun at the Presidential Palace, Gemayel said his party supports both the head of State and the prime minister, along with the current negotiation track, which he described as essential to “restoring Lebanon’s wellbeing and putting the country back on its feet.”

He then turned to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, saying the veteran politician is caught between competing pressures.

“Speaker Berri doesn’t seem to know how to balance between satisfying Hezbollah and aligning with the logic of the State,” Gemayel said, calling on him to “make his choices clear.”

He also praised President Aoun’s efforts to bridge political divides.

“President Aoun is working tirelessly to bring Lebanese together, including Speaker Berri, who represents an important segment of the country,” he said. “The difficulty for Berri is that he is constantly trying to satisfy both Hezbollah’s demands and the requirements of the State and the international community. Eventually, he will have to choose.”

Gemayel pointed to what he called the deteriorating security situation in southern Lebanon, where continued Israeli strikes and the “systematic destruction of villages,” as he put it, are taking a heavy toll on civilians.

“Given the seriousness of what is happening in the south, we cannot understand Hezbollah’s continued insistence on refusing to hand over the country’s fate to the State,” he said. “Nor do we understand why it insists on holding Lebanon hostage after all the destruction and after its failure in military confrontation.”

As Lebanon approaches the 26th anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from the south in 2000, Gemayel questioned Hezbollah’s narrative of resistance and its role in successive conflicts.

“We are approaching Liberation Day, and one has to ask: what exactly is being celebrated?” he said. “We are witnessing a pattern of destruction and escalation that drags Lebanon into wars that are not its own.”

He reviewed key milestones in Lebanon’s modern conflict history, arguing that the country has been repeatedly pulled into cycles of war and reconstruction.

“In 2000, Lebanon was liberated,” he said. “In 2006, Hezbollah launched an operation that brought massive destruction to the south and triggered Israeli escalation, before withdrawal under Resolution 1701. Since then, Lebanon has been drawn into regional conflicts, including the war in Gaza, with consequences that have again brought destruction and instability.”

He added that recent developments had only deepened Lebanon’s crisis, saying the country now faces “mass displacement, destruction, and a collapsing national situation.”

Gemayel was blunt in rejecting any continued coexistence with Hezbollah’s armed role.

“We will not coexist with the logic of weapons anymore, regardless of how this war ends,” he said. “We cannot live alongside a militia that operates outside the state and drags Lebanon into wars decided elsewhere.”

“We will not accept a parallel logic that undermines the State. We stand more than ever with legitimacy, with the president, and with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who are both facing an aggressive campaign of accusations and delegitimization," he stated.

Gemayel stressed that political pressure or criticism would not alter his party’s position.

“This rhetoric does not change anything for us,” he said. “We fully support the State, the army, and efforts to ensure that weapons are restricted to legitimate institutions. The overwhelming majority of Lebanese, in our view, stand with that approach.”

He also addressed Hezbollah’s grassroots support base, urging reflection on the consequences of the group’s policies.

“We hope Hezbollah’s supporters realize the scale of the disaster that has been inflicted on the country,” he said, arguing that the party “takes its decisions from Iran, not from Lebanon’s national interest.”

Expressing sympathy for Hezbollah fighters killed in recent conflicts, Gemayel added: “I look at the images of those who died, and I see Lebanese who should have been partners in building this country. Many of them are victims of propaganda, foreign funding, and an imported ideology. They should not be dying in this way.”

He said Lebanon’s priority must now be recovery and stability.

“We stand behind the State so that our young people can have a future of opportunity and dignity, not endless wars fought on behalf of others,” he said.

Asked about the role of international actors, Gemayel said he believed former US President Donald Trump could help curb Israeli escalation, while reiterating support for President Aoun’s efforts.

“President Aoun is doing everything possible to de-escalate tensions, and we fully stand behind him,” he said.

On judicial appointments, particularly the post of public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Gemayel said his party does not interfere in the process.

“This is a matter for the government and the justice minister,” he said. “We trust the judiciary to act independently, free from political pressure.”