US election results could be positive for Lebanon, Hezbollah chief says

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has welcomed Republican setbacks in US midterm elections last week and a lacklustre showing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israeli polls, calling them a boon for Lebanon. During a speech on Wednesday honouring members of the group killed by Israel, along with their families, Qassem described the elections in the US as an “earthquake” and the Israeli elections as a “defeat”.

The bloc of Netanyahu, an arch-nemesis of the group, fell short of the 61 seats it needed to stay in power after the October 27 vote. Qassem said the results were good for Lebanon and a signal that the country should resist the Trump administration’s push to disarm the group.

“Come, let us rebuild our country together, save it from the darkness of failure, and protect it from the empty rhetoric of those who sow discord and those who rely on American tutelage,” he said in a video-link address.