Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem referenced the Second Lebanon War in a speech, saying that "this victory deterred the enemy for 17 years and prevented them from launching aggression out of fear of the resistance." He then attacked the Lebanese government: "It is executing the American-Israeli order to eliminate the resistance, even at the cost of civil war and internal conflicts. Hezbollah and the Amal movement decided to reject the idea of taking to the streets and demonstrations, to allow for discussion and corrections."