Hezbollah rejects Lebanon cabinet plan to disarm group

Hezbollah has rejected a Lebanese cabinet plan to establish a state monopoly on arms, saying implementation should be suspended until further notice amid ongoing Israeli military operations.

Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati told Reuters on September 6 that the cabinet session on September 5, which discussed an army plan to disarm the group, was “an opportunity to return to wisdom and reason, preventing the country from slipping into the unknown," Caliber.Az reports. 

Lebanon’s cabinet had welcomed the army’s plan and indicated it would begin executing it, though without a set timeframe and while cautioning that the military had limited capabilities. Speaking after the meeting, Information Minister Paul Morcos did not confirm formal approval of the plan.

Qmati said Hezbollah based its position on the government’s declaration that further implementation of a US roadmap was contingent on Israel halting strikes and withdrawing from southern Lebanon.

“Without Israel halting strikes and withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s implementation of the plan should remain ‘suspended until further notice,’” he said.

Hezbollah “unequivocally rejected” the cabinet and US-backed decisions and called on the Lebanese government to formulate a national defense strategy.

The dispute over Hezbollah’s disarmament has intensified since last year’s war with Israel, with the group facing pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia, and domestic rivals. Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem last month warned that confronting the group could spark civil war and street protests.

By Sabina Mammadli