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Lebanese MP Samy Gemayel, leader of the Lebanese Kataeb Party said that the time has come to realize that Hizbullah is an "Islamic republic" with foreign funding, weapons, and ideology and that it is "trying to get its hands on the pluralistic Lebanese Republic," in a February 3, 2023 address during the party's 32nd general assembly that was posted on Kataeb News on YouTube. He said that Hizbullah is "trying to kill the spirit of the Lebanese Republic," and that Lebanon has moved from a culture of life, love, and openness to a culture of death, martyrdom, and wars. Gemayel said that if a "divorce" with Hizbullah is necessary, that is what should be done, and he added: "We will not live in Lebanon like second-degree citizens." He explained that he was not speaking only as a Christian, but as a Lebanese citizen. Samy Gemayel, is the nephew of Bachir Gemayel, a Lebanese President-elect who was assassinated by a Syrian terrorist in 1982.
Samy Gemayel: "Today, we have two states on the same land.
"On the one hand, you have the Republic of Lebanon, with all the people from all the sects who believe in it, and believe in the democratic system and the constitution, which governs the relations of the Lebanese from all sects with one another, and on the other hand, there is a state called the Islamic Republic of Hizbullah.
"These Lebanese Republic and Islamic Republic exist on the same land. Each of them has its own funding, foreign policy, and army, and they both exist on this land. The time has come for us to realize this, and understand that this Islamic Republic, with its foreign funding, foreign weapons, and foreign ideology, is trying to get its hand on the pluralistic Lebanese Republic.
"This is what we need to fight today. Unfortunately, we are hiding behind some slogans, in an attempt to avoid this reality. The reality is that this Islamic Republic is trying to kill the spirit of the Lebanese Republic by changing its culture. We have moved from the culture of life, love, and openness, to a culture of death, martyrdom, and wars.
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"Therefore, we have reached a point where we should tell Hizbullah that we are not prepared to continue living like this. On September 14, 2022, I said that if Hizbullah continued its attempts to impose over the rest of Lebanon its view of the future of Lebanon, it would be tantamount to telling us that it wants a divorce from us.
"Let me state once again that we will not surrender, and if what is needed is a divorce between the Republic of Lebanon and the Republic of Hizbullah — let's have it. Let's have it. We will not live in Lebanon like second-degree citizens — and I'm saying this as a Lebanese, not as a Christian."