In response to American pressure on Beirut to take these steps, Hazbollah leader Naim Qassem has stated that calls for the Lebanese group’s disarmament only benefit Israel.
In a televised address on Wednesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the senior commander’s intentional killing by Israel, Qassem said, “We will not submit to Israel. … We will not submit to Israel.”
Hezbollah’s leadership was severely damaged in a conflict with Israel last year, which resulted in the death of tens of thousands of its fighters, and the displacement of tens of thousands of its supporters from their destroyed homes.
According to sources, the US is urging Lebanon to pass a formal cabinet resolution committing to disarming Hezbollah, which is necessary before talks can resume regarding a stop to Israeli military operations in the country, which were finalized in November of last year.
The Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers were the only armed parties in the region of the truce, which Hezbollah had to withdraw its fighters from north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border.
Hezbollah has privately weighed lowering its arsenal in comparison to publicly declining to give it up entirely.
Qassem remarked that those who call for disarmament on a national, international, or global scale benefit the Israeli project.
He also claimed that the US was requesting the destruction of Hezbollah’s drones and missiles because they “scare” Israel, and that US special envoy Tom Barrack had claimed that he had called for disarmament for the sake of Israel and not the security of Lebanon.
He continued, “Israel will not be able to take Lebanon hostage, and it will not be able to defeat us.”
Israeli aggression must end, according to the statement.
Barrack and Lebanese officials met in Beirut to discuss the disarmament plan in the first few days of July. In exchange for the resumption of Israeli airstrikes against several posts in south Lebanon and the cessation of Israeli airstrikes, which have so far claimed the lives of thousands of Lebanese citizens, would Hezbollah be completely disarmed in four months.
In recent months, Hezbollah has been under pressure from both Washington and Lebanon.
Qassem claimed in his speech that the ceasefire agreement “exclusively applies south of the Litani River.”
“Woods are an internal Lebanese affair that has no relationship to the Israeli enemy,” I say to those who associate them with the agreement.
Israel was supposed to have taken all of its troops out of Lebanon under the truce, but it has since maintained them in five strategic areas.
In response to ongoing Israeli attacks aimed at various areas of Lebanon, Qassem said, “The imminent danger is the Israeli aggression… this aggression must stop.” The country’s entire political discourse must focus on halting the aggression rather than granting Israel weapons.
According to a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity, “Lebanese authorities are currently under international and regional pressure, with demands that they formally commit to disarm Hezbollah at a cabinet meeting.”
A Lebanese source with knowledge of the situation told AFP that Lebanon’s request for Israel to end its military repression was rejected by the US.
Nawaf Salam, the prime minister of Lebanon, convened a cabinet meeting for the week to discuss “the granting of state sovereignty to all of its territories by its own forces only.” A state monopoly on the supply of weapons was promised by leaders who took office after Israel and Hezbollah were at war for a year.
According to reports, the meeting will also be interested in “arrangements for the ceasefire,” which take inspiration from Ambassador Barrack’s suggestions for how to implement it.
Source: Aljazeera
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