Lebanon cabinet approves disarming Hezbollah by end of year
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The National
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Hezbollah supporters protest after Lebanese government's decision to disarm group
Protests broke out in parts of Lebanon on Thursday night after the government endorsed plans to disarm Hezbollah. Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters took to the streets of Beirut's southern suburbs chanting anti-government slogans in protest at its decision. Similar demonstrations took place in other parts of the country where Hezbollah enjoys strong support, including Nabatieh in the south, Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon and Hermel in the north-east. Army troops were deployed to maintain order. The cabinet agreed on disarming Hezbollah and endorsed the objectives of a US proposal that requires the Iran-backed group to hand over all its weapons during a stormy meeting on Thursday evening. The government's four Shiite ministers, out of the 23 cabinet members present, walked out before the decision was taken, highlighting the risk of alienating the sect from which Hezbollah draws most of its support. Information Minister Paul Morcos said the cabinet approved only the goals of the US plan, and did not discuss it in full. The US plan lists 11 'objectives' including 'ensuring the sustainability' of the ceasefire with Israel announced in November and 'the gradual end of the armed presence of all non-governmental entities, including Hezbollah, in all Lebanese territory'. It also calls for the deployment of Lebanese troops in border areas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the five places in the south they have occupied since last year's war with Hezbollah ended with November's ceasefire. Lebanon says Israel's continued presence and its air strikes inside Lebanese territory are a violation of the truce. On Friday morning, an Israeli strike in south Lebanon killed journalist Mohammad Shehadeh, a photographer and director of the Hawana Lebanon website. At least six people were killed and 10 injured in Israeli strikes in the Bekaa region on Thursday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The cabinet on Tuesday gave the Lebanese Armed Forces until the end of August to prepare a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year. The group rejected the decision and said it would treat it as if it did not exist. 'The government threw the ball into the Lebanese army's court. The problem is not the decision, but the method of application of the plan by the Lebanese army,' said Gen Mounir Shehadeh, who until recently was the government's co-ordinator with the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (Unifil). 'The Lebanese army consists of the Lebanese people, and Hezbollah is also comprises the people. People in the [Lebanese army] have relatives in Hezbollah and vice versa,' he told The National. 'So maybe we'll not get to the point where there will be a face-off between the [army] and Hezbollah. The army is studying the decision in a very detailed way and considering the difficulties of the plan which the government has tasked it with.'
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Why has Israel decided to reoccupy Gaza - and at what cost?
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Dubai Eye
2 hours ago
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US plan sees Hezbollah disarmed by year-end, Israeli withdrawal
The US has presented Lebanon with a proposal for disarming Hezbollah by the end of the year, along with ending Israel's military operations in the country and the withdrawal of its troops from five positions in south Lebanon, according to a copy of a Lebanese cabinet agenda reviewed by Reuters. The plan, submitted by US President Donald Trump's envoy to the region, Tom Barrack, sets out the most detailed steps yet for disarming the group, which has rejected mounting calls to disarm since last year's devastating war with Israel. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said following the cabinet meeting on Thursday that the cabinet approved only the objectives of Barrack's plan but did not discuss it in full. "We did not delve into the details or components of the US proposal. Our discussion and decision were limited to its objectives," Morcos said. The objectives of the US proposal would include phasing out the armed presence of non-state actors including Hezbollah, deploying Lebanese forces to key border and internal areas, ensuring Israel's withdrawal from the five positions, resolving prisoner issues through indirect talks and permanently demarcating Lebanon's borders with Israel and Syria. The US welcomed the Lebanese government's decision to task the Lebanese Armed Forces to bring all weapons under state control, a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday. The Israeli prime minister's office declined to comment, while the defence ministry did not immediately respond. Hezbollah had no immediate comment on the proposal, but three political sources told Reuters that ministers from the group and their allies withdrew from Thursday's cabinet meeting in protest at discussions of the proposal. Iran's Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state TV on Wednesday that this was not the first time attempts have been made to disarm the group, adding that the final decision rests with the group itself. "We act as a supporter but we do not interfere in their decision-making," Araqchi added. Israel dealt major blows to Hezbollah in an offensive last year, the climax of a conflict that began in October 2023 when the Lebanese group opened fire at Israeli positions at the frontier, declaring support for its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the war on Gaza. The US proposal aims to "extend and stabilise" a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel brokered in November. "The urgency of this proposal is underscored by the increasing number of complaints regarding Israeli violations of the current ceasefire, including airstrikes and cross-border operations, which risk triggering a collapse of the fragile status quo," it said. Phase 1 of the plan would require the Beirut government to issue a decree within 15 days committing to Hezbollah's full disarmament by December 31. In this phase, Israel would also cease ground, air and sea military operations. Phase 2 would require Lebanon to begin implementing the disarmament plan within 60 days, with the government approving "a detailed (Lebanese army) deployment plan to support the plan to bring all arms under the authority of the state". This plan will specify disarmament targets. During Phase 2, Israel would begin withdrawing from positions it holds in south Lebanon and Lebanese prisoners held by Israel would be released in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). During Phase 3, within 90 days, Israel will withdraw from the final two of the five points it holds and funding will be secured to initiate rubble removal in Lebanon and infrastructure rehabilitation in preparation for reconstruction. In Phase 4, within 120 days, Hezbollah's remaining heavy weapons must be dismantled, including missiles and drones. In Phase 4, the US, Saudi Arabia, France, Qatar and other states will organise an economic conference to support the Lebanese economy and reconstruction and to "implement President Trump's vision for the return of Lebanon as a prosperous and viable country".
