BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- An official of the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah said his party has been offered "billions" to surrender its arsenal of weapons.
Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general, said the group would continue its resistance regardless of the consequences, The Daily Star of Beirut reported.
"Billions of dollars have been offered to us to rebuild the deprived south Lebanon and in return to surrender our arms and stop the work of the resistance," Qassem said during a ceremony for the eighth edition of his book "Hezbollah."
"But we told them we're not in need (of their money) and the resistance will go on regardless of the consequences," he said.
Qassem described the resistance as a means of achieving liberation.
Rival political leaders have accused Hezbollah of using its weapons internally against Lebanese citizens and as a tool of political pressure.
