Hezbollah lashed out on Thursday against the prospect of any political negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, and insisted that it has a right to defend itself.

A source close to Hezbollah’s political leadership told AFP the declaration followed recent US and Egyptian pressure on Lebanon’s leaders to open direct negotiations.

Lebanon and Israel are still technically in a state of war, but all the recent armed conflicts with Israel were fought by Hezbollah, not the Lebanese military.

The only diplomatic contact between Israel and Lebanon is through a ceasefire monitoring mechanism, which includes the United States, France and the United Nations.

This body meets regularly at the headquarters of the UN force in southern Lebanon but the Lebanese and Israeli parties do not directly commun

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