Hezbollah lawmaker calls for referendum on group’s arsenal

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah has called for a nationwide referendum on the future of the group’s arsenal, sharply criticising rare direct talks held in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli representatives as “disgraceful.”

Fadlallah said that if the Lebanese government “truly wants to prove it reflects the aspirations of the Lebanese people, then it should accept a popular referendum” instead of engaging in discussions with Israel over Hezbollah’s disarmament, AP reports. 

He accused Beirut of legitimising Israel diplomatically while the war continues, saying it was doing so “at a time when it is killing Lebanese people and committing massacres.”

“The enemy is the one benefiting,” he said.

Fadlallah argued that a referendum would demonstrate that “a majority of the Lebanese people” support Hezbollah’s armed campaign against Israel.

By Sabina Mammadli