Naim Qassem says Saudi Arabia should open a ‘new page’ in relations as pressure on the Lebanese group ‘only benefits Israel’.Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem has appealed to Saudi Arabia to mend relations with the Lebanese armed group and build a common front against Israel.The remarks by the Hezbollah chief on Friday come as Israel has launched more attacks on the south of Lebanon.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listQassem urged Saudi Arabia to open a “new page” with Hezbollah, based on three principles: dialogue to resolve disputes and address concerns, recognition that Israel – and not “the resistance” – is the enemy, and “freezing of past disagreements”.He stressed that the resistance’s weapons are aimed solely at Israel, “not Lebanon, not Saudi Arabia, and not any other place or party in the world”.Qassem warned that pressure on the resistance only benefits Israel, and that if it were eliminated, “the turn will come for the other states”.Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah have existed for years, and are part of the broader, years-long rivalry between Riyadh and Iran, Hezbollah’s main backer.The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), led by Saudi Arabia, labelled Hezbollah a “terrorist” organisation in 2016, citing its involvement in the Syrian civil war on now-deposed leader Bashar al-Assad’s side and its backing of Y …
