Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel on Saturday stressed that the party is seeking a peace society not wars, blaming the current ruling system and Hezbollah’s arms for Lebanon’s collapse and deteriorating situation.

“The corrupted political class and Hezbollah’s weapons are the two barriers the Lebanese are facing today,” Gemayel said during a virtual meeting held on the occasion of the 84th anniversary of the party’s founding and the 14th anniversary of the assassination of martyr Minister Pierre Gemayel.

“You are dragging the country into conflicts that have nothing to do with it and protecting the corruption through your refusal to the parliamentary elections,” Gemayel said addressing Hezbollah.

“The Lebanese will not accept to live with your destructive weapons, not today, not even tomorrow,” he added.

Gemayel accused the authority of its failure in handling the country’s economic, social, financial situation, affirming that now is the right time for change, to be united and to hold this political class accountable.

“The country is going through a very difficult phase and yet none of the Lebanese officials has done anything to help,” he said.

“We have decided to move the confrontation to a new stage as the country cannot bear any more hardships,” he added.

The Kataeb leader stressed the party’s determination in working with all those who seek change, affirming that they will break all the barriers that would prevent the country from rising.

“The Kataeb is strong with its performance, steadfastness, non-surrender and submission,” he said.

“The party is strong with its sacrifices for the sake of the country and its people, with its democracy and internal elections,” he pointed out.

Gemayel affirmed that the party’s main goal today is to build a strong, coherent society that protects pluralism and diversity, saying that building a country requires frankness and reconciliation.

“The difference in politics must be based on how to improve the country,” he said.

“The party’s project is to have a recovering society with complete sovereignty over the entire territory with no weapons or resistance, or camps,” he added.

“The Kataeb is fighting for a free economy and aspires to build a State in which accountability prevails through an independent Judiciary that lifts the banking secrecy and has the capacity for criminal investigation into the accounts of the Central Bank and the State’s finances," he added.

"It is time to rest and take the opportunity to build a new Lebanon and a greater future for our children,” he noted.