The Lebanese government yesterday was discussing an army plan to disarm Hezbollah, which the Iran-backed militant group said plays into the hands of Israel and the US.
Last month, under heavy US pressure and fearing Israel would intensify its strikes, Lebanon’s government ordered the army to draw up a plan for disarming Hezbollah by the end of the year.
Hezbollah reiterated its opposition to the move on Wednesday, with its parliamentary bloc calling on Lebanese authorities to “reverse their... unpatriotic decision.”
Photo: AFP
Yesterday’s session came amid intensified Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon over the past two days, which killed at least five people, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health and state-run National News Agency.
In an attempt to ease tensions, speaker of parliament and head of the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement Nabih Berri on Sunday called for discussions to be “a calm and consensual dialogue.”
Fadi Makki, the only Shiite minister not affiliated with Hezbollah or Amal, said there are “no details yet” on the army’s plan, but added that ministers are “heading into the session positively.”
As of press time last night, no details of the plan had been disclosed.
Ahead of the session, posters depicting Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun were put up in the streets of Beirut with the caption: “We are all with you. One army, one arsenal, one state. A new era for Lebanon.”
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said that Hezbollah and Amal had postponed a previous call for protest to allow room for discussion and “to make adjustments before we reach a confrontation that no one wants,” adding that “if it is imposed on us, we will face it.”
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