LEBANON’s President, Joseph Aoun, has called on the country’s militant group, Hezbollah, and other political parties, to hand over their weapons to the Army, a move the powerful militant group is resisting, just as Washington ramps up pressures for it to remove its arsenal.
“It is the duty of all political parties… to seize this historic opportunity without hesitation and push for the exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the Army and security forces and no one else,” Aoun said in a televised speech in the Defence Ministry’s headquarters on Thursday, July 31.
The Iran-aligned group, which emerged badly damaged from its war with Israel last year, has said calls for it to disarm only serve Israel.
“Those who call for submitting arms practically demand submitting them to Israel …
“We will not submit to Israel,” its leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said on Wednesday, July 30.
The United States (US) has been pushing Lebanon to issue a formal cabinet decision committing to disarm Hezbollah before talks can resume on a halt to Israeli military operations in the country, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Aoun said a proposal to Washington that will be presented to the cabinet next week stated that Israel should stop its attacks on Lebanon and withdraw from the posts it occupies in the south of the country, along with Hezbollah handing over its weaponry to the Lebanese army.
The proposal seeks to secure $1billion yearly for 10 years to support the Army and the security forces, and includes plans for an international conference to take place later in the year to support reconstruction efforts in Lebanon.
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