Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel on Tuesday stressed that Lebanon is paying the price of Hezbollah’s weapons, saying that it has no right to violate the country's decisions and interests as well as the laws and the Lebanese Constitution.

“Why doesn’t Hezbollah hand over its arms to a government it built and to an ally president?" Gemayel asked in an interview with OTV.

“Hezbollah cannot drag Lebanon into regional conflicts by force and we refuse to recruit any Lebanese citizen for the benefit of any foreign country, whatever the State is,” he said.

"No one can ask us to pay the price of extrajudicial acts carried out by anyone in the country," he added.

Gemayel stressed that the country has become a hostage to Hezbollah’s stance, saying that they support any decision that defends the country’s sovereignty and independence.

“We will be among the first to defend Hezbollah if it puts itself under the Lebanese Constitution and comes out of the regional conflicts,” he noted.

"We don’t want for Lebanon’s South to be involved in a war with Israel in defense of Iran," he said.

The Kataeb leader stressed that only the Lebanese army should have the authority and the decision on how to defend Lebanon, saying that any strategic weapon must be in the military’ grip.

“We must work on strengthening our country’s sovereignty and protect it from any interference as well as to build up an internal immunity that would be fortified through our relationship with each other,” he pointed out.

“We believe in neutrality and that Lebanon neutralizes itself from regional conflicts,” he pointed out.

“The neutrality has nothing to do with Israel,” he added.

Gemayel affirmed he has a longing to the old Free Patriotic Movement, saying that they are no longer associates because of the party’s alliance with Hezbollah.

“General Aoun was a symbol representing the sovereign line in Lebanon and the rejection of illegal weapons. I believe that there is no State building in the shadow of illegal weapons and the FPM youth have struggled for legitimacy,” he said.

“The FPM new political stances contradict with what the movement used to believe in before 2006,” he noted.

“We didn't boycott the Baabda Palace but we attend dialogues and meetings only if they lie in the country’s best interests,” he pointed out.

The Kataeb leader deemed the October 17 revolution as an uprising of an entire people of all sects and affiliations, stressing that they have been a part of the Lebanese people’s dialogue for over 7 months.

“We are still in contact with most of the revolution’s groups and we are very pleased with our relationship with them,” he said.

“The Lebanese people are going through the most difficult stage in Lebanon’s history; they are now facing two options and that’s either surrender or migration,” he added.

“Sects have nothing to do with the country’s collapse but sectarian parties have created tensions so as to reach a settlement that would satisfy everyone. But unfortunately, this method has failed,” he noted.

Gemayel affirmed that the revolution is a rebellion for a large fraction of people who have called for an independent government and early parliamentary elections, saying that the decision should be restored to the Lebanese so they can decide their own fate.

“The government has failed in taking any decision that would help the country overcome its crises and struggles. People will rebel through the ballot boxes and parliamentary elections,” he added.

“It is now the time to change the entire current system,” he affirmed.

“The crisis affects everyone and we need to unify our efforts so as to save the country,” he added.