Head of Phalange party says Hezbollah must apologise for Lebanon war

The head of the Lebanese Phalange (Kataeb) Party, Samy Gemayel, sparked widespread anger among Lebanese people after calling on Hezbollah to apologise to the public and its supporters for "dragging" Lebanon into a war with Israel.

In a post on X, Gemayel said: "Hezbollah should apologise to its own people, to the Lebanese, to itself, and to the families who have lost their homes and children."

He used the platform to renew calls for the disarmament of the group, saying: "If [Hezbollah] claims that its weapons are sacred, we cannot accept this logic, which has no basis in the constitution or reason, and has led to destruction and death."

In a separate statement made to the UAE-based Sky News Arabia, Gemayel said: "Any settlement that does not serve the interests of the people, uphold state sovereignty, restore the state's authority, and restrict weapons exclusively to the army is an unacceptable settlement.

"For now, our priority is for the war to end with a ceasefire, for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, and for the state to reclaim sovereignty over all Lebanese territories."

His comments were met with fierce attack online, with many voicing their support for the "Lebanese resistance", saying they were prepared for "more sacrifices" to end the Israeli occupation of their land.

"My sister was [killed], and we lost properties and homes which were destroyed," one user said on X. "We stand firmly with the heroes of the resistance, fully supporting the truth against all falsehood (you know this for sure). If the cost of this war is our children, our wealth, and our lives, we will offer them without hesitation."

"We are the ones who lost our homes, whose families were displaced, whose brothers and sons were [killed], yet we still feel we haven’t done enough for Hezbollah. We don’t want a traitor, son of a traitor, nephew of a traitor to speak on our behalf," another user said.

Gemayel's father Amine Gemayel, who served as Lebanese president from 1982 until 1988, and his uncle Bachir Gemayel, were both prominent figures within the Kataeb Party and had associations with Israel during the Lebanon's Civil War

The Kataeb Party was a driving force in the brutal outbreak of the Civil War in 1975 and bears responsibility for a series of massacres targeting Palestinian civilians.

In April 1975, Phalangist gunmen ambushed a bus carrying unarmed Palestinians, killing 27 people, set off a wave of sectarian violence that spiralled into a full-scale war. 

Over the course of the conflict, Phalange militants were involved in several atrocities against Palestinian refugees, the most notorious being the massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in 1982, during which some 3,500 civilians were brutally murdered in collaboration with Israeli forces.

The Kataeb Party's legacy remains marred by these war crimes, which has left many casting doubt on Gemayel's "hypocritical" calls for peace and sovereignty.

One X user said: "That's why you turned to the Israeli enemy in the 1970s to train and arm you, and their army even helped you reach the presidency. [...] Now you want your Israeli ally to take Lebanon and put you as its leader."