Disarmament of Hezbollah is not enough

Arab News

a day ago

https://arab.news/9sqc3
The Lebanese Cabinet has tasked the army with drafting a plan outlining how weapons in the country should be managed. It will mainly target those held by Hezbollah, with the aim of placing the organization's arsenal under state control by the end of the year.
It is undeniable that this is a historic step, as it is the first time that representatives of the Lebanese state have dared to discuss a plan that would advance efforts to disarm Hezbollah and any other armed factions. This would have been unimaginable only a year ago.
The announcement, which came a day after the fifth anniversary of the 2020 explosion at Beirut Port, is a first step that could ultimately bring justice and more to the country. Now, though, we should manage expectations, and the actual outcome, as this is one of the most challenging, yet the most crucial, issues for the future stability and reconstruction of Lebanon.
As expected, the response from Hezbollah did not take long. As the staging required, it did not even wait for the end of the Cabinet meeting during which the plan was agreed. While that meeting of ministers to discuss the state's monopoly on weapons was still taking place, Hezbollah's chief, Naim Qassem, delivered a speech that strongly rejected the idea of disarmament or a timetable for achieving it.
As usual, the rhetoric was saturated with words of defiance and double-dipped in the language of resistance. In short, he addressed the Cabinet indirectly and denigrated the plan for state sovereignty as a de facto surrender to Israel and the US.
As Hezbollah has done for too long, it also slandered the Lebanese state by stating that it was incapable of protecting the country's borders and insisting, of course, that Hezbollah should retain its defense capabilities, based on the assumption its members are the only ones capable of defending the country.
While the state discusses a monopoly on weapons, Hezbollah wants to convey the notion that it alone holds a monopoly on the willingness and capacity to defend the country. This is all lies and fantasy.
Through its foolish actions, Hezbollah has brought destruction to Lebanon too many times to claim that its weapons defend the country.
Khaled Abou Zahr
Despite Qassem's declarations, the war with Israel last autumn changed the reality of the situation, and no Hezbollah speech can alter that. Through its foolish actions, Hezbollah has brought destruction to Lebanon too many times to claim that its weapons defend the country. Its arsenal has only brought destruction and misery.
Moreover, it has only defended its own interests. Its disarmament should not be viewed as a US demand; at its core, it is a Lebanese demand. Lebanese citizens want to see a country unified by its army without internal disruptions. The Lebanese demand a sovereign state.
One thing is certain: If Hezbollah ultimately collaborates and surrenders its arsenal, it will not happen without the entity putting forward demands. These demands might serve as excuses to avoid handing over its weapons, and it will be clear that if they include negotiations with Israel and border talks, then this will be a red line.
Any conditions that would integrate Hezbollah into state military forces or only partially remove its arsenal should also not be accepted, as the loyalty of Hezbollah members is not to the country but to a foreign country. Most Lebanese expect Hezbollah's demands to include conditions related to domestic power sharing, and perhaps international protection for members accused of terrorism.
The tension is palpable, as is often the case in Lebanon, and most Lebanese also expect a demonstration of force by Hezbollah and its members in an attempt to block disarmament. The reactions of affiliated members during the Cabinet discussions indicate defiance and a refusal to cooperate. This is partly why the Cabinet did not demand the immediate disarmament of Hezbollah, focusing instead on establishing a framework with a set calendar.
Moreover, although Hezbollah itself does not hold the formal power of veto in the current Cabinet, which requires the support of a third of the ministers present, it has demonstrated that it still has the capacity for veto through alliances, control of key ministries, such as finance, and the ability to disrupt consensus. This was evident when Hezbollah and its allies walked out, blocking any decision.
Lebanon's power-sharing system, and the threat of civil war that Hezbollah whispers to the population, therefore make this decision and its execution difficult.
The reality is that Hezbollah's arguments are all false. Even when Qassem refers to the Taif Agreement, the 1989 accord that ended the 15-year Lebanese Civil War, Hezbollah has never respected it, and has invited military interventions by Israel despite there no longer being any major Lebanese territories occupied by Israel; the Shebaa Farms issue also involves Syria, and as for Kfar Shouba Hills, the claims on this matter can and should be handled exclusively by the Lebanese state. Hezbollah has no right to start military actions or threaten any other country. This needs to stop now.
Despite this, Qassem in his speech warned that if Israel resumed military operations against Lebanon, Hezbollah would respond by launching missiles into Israel, causing its security to collapse within an hour. He did not mention the destruction this would bring upon Lebanon.
He should remember that even his organization agreed to negotiations with Israel regarding the maritime border dispute, which included the issue of gas reserves. Not only that, but Hezbollah yielded to Israeli will. So all this talk about resistance and being the protector of Lebanon's borders, in lieu of the Lebanese Armed Forces, is now known to be complete nonsense and a useless narrative.
This is why the disarmament of Hezbollah should not be the only step taken. It is incomplete. It is necessary that Hezbollah's illegal operations are also dismantled. This is an essential step in restoring Lebanese sovereignty; we cannot have a sovereign country without the rule of law. This should be acted upon without delay.
Lebanese citizens want to see a country unified by its army without internal disruptions. The Lebanese demand a sovereign state.
Khaled Abou Zahr
This would also show the resolve of the state in its efforts to move towards establishing a new Lebanon. Hezbollah's armed militia operates outside the authority of the Lebanese state, undermining the monopoly on force that is fundamental to the functioning of any government. Hezbollah's involvement in illicit activities — including arms smuggling, drug trafficking and money laundering — not only fuels corruption but destabilizes the Lebanese economy and society.
Moreover, Hezbollah's military autonomy and its ties to foreign powers compromise Lebanon's neutrality and expose the country to regional conflicts. To pave the way for political reform, economic recovery and national unity, it is crucial to disarm and dismantle these illegal networks, and reaffirm the state's control of its territory and institutions.
There is also a need to halt any external financing of political parties. Any financial support should go exclusively to the state and not any other entity. The Cabinet must take action to ensure any foreign payments to Lebanese political organizations or their socially affiliated groups is deemed illegal. Foreign funding for political organizations needs to be banned to protect national sovereignty and prevent external influence over domestic politics. Hezbollah should not have the authority to operate a parallel system that keeps its community apart from the rest of Lebanese society.
This is also why disarmament alone is not enough. Hezbollah members need to face judgment for all of their terror attacks against the Lebanese and Syrian peoples. They are not, and should not be, a component of any future political development.
The political structure in Lebanon continues to be sectarian in nature. The country will not be able to build within this system unless most, if not all, communities are aligned in agreement on the same plan. There is therefore a great responsibility on non-Hezbollah Shiite leaders to now step up and challenge it. Now that the Cabinet has broken the fear barrier, courageous leaders should also work to free the Shiite community from Hezbollah's control and push for disarmament of the organization.
All citizens should have the same rights to happiness, and the same duties towards the state, as they are all suffering in the same ways today.
• Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.