Hezbollah has called the Lebanese government’s effort to establish a state-controlled arms market a “grave sin” and has already pointedly refuted it as “as if it doesn’t exist.”
The Lebanese army is required to develop a plan to confine arms across the country to six official security forces by the end of the year, according to a cabinet decision on Wednesday.
In response to rising concerns that Israel might launch more strikes on Lebanon even as it violates the November truce it signed with Hezbollah to put an end to the conflict, the government made the decision.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), Prime Minister Nawaf Salam confirmed the decree at the cabinet meeting, claiming that “the state’s duty to monopolize the possession of weapons.”
Hezbollah’s military presence in Lebanon was a flagrant violation of Salam’s statement on Tuesday, which equated to an official rejection by Salam’s government. This was an undeniable development two years ago when the group had sway there and its military presence was a forceful reality there.
Hezbollah claimed in a written statement on Wednesday that the decision was the result of US “diktats” and that it would “deal with it as if it does not exist.”
The group claimed that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government made the wrong choice by removing Lebanon’s weapons to ally itself with Israel.
Shia ministers left the six-hour cabinet meeting prior to the decision, according to the statement, as “an expression of the resistance’s]Hezbollah’s] rejection of this decision.”
The organization urged its supporters to be patient while the group said it was still open to discussing a larger national security strategy.
Hezbollah’s statement reads, “We are open to dialogue, ending Israel’s aggression against Lebanon, liberating its land, releasing prisoners, working to build the state, and rebuilding what was destroyed by the brutal Israeli aggression,” in a statement.
Israel must first adhere to the ceasefire agreement, which Israel has been flagrantly violating, in November of last year, it was added.
A drone strike by Israel at the southern Lebanese town of Tulin on Wednesday resulted in the death of a child and the injury of the father, according to Al-Akhbar, highlighting regular attacks on its northern neighbor.
Additionally, NNA reported that Israeli aircraft flew four bombs over the Wazzani River in the southeast of Israel.
On Thursday, the cabinet of Lebanon will hold a second meeting to discuss US proposals to disarm Hezbollah within a specific time frame.
If Hezbollah is disarmed by force, Lebanese politicians have the option of asking the country’s army to intervene if necessary.
However, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun made a warning on Friday that the country’s sectarian divisions could lead to national harmony because of disarmament.
The cabinet’s first address addressed Hezbollah’s weapons during Tuesday’s session at Lebanon’s presidential palace.
Hassan Nasrallah, one of the group’s long-time leaders, was among the members of the Hezbollah’s weakened as a result of the recent war with Israel, which saw the death of the majority of the organization’s senior leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated by Israel. Zealots of thousands of Shia and other communities were forced out of their destroyed homes as a result of the conflict, which also claimed the lives of thousands of its fighters and civilians.
Naim Qassem, the head of Hezbollah, reiterated on Tuesday that the organization would not use its weapons against Israeli fire, saying instead that the organization’s plan should not be a timetable for disarmament and that national consensus must be reached.
Source: Aljazeera
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