Latest news with #ShiiteMinisters
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lebanon backs US proposal for Hezbollah to disarm and IDF to withdraw from south
Lebanon's government approved a US proposal on Thursday that would see the disarmament of the militant group Hezbollah and the Israeli military withdrawal from the south of the country. Tensions have been rising in Lebanon amid increased domestic and international pressure for Hezbollah to give up its remaining arsenal after a bruising war with Israel that ended last November with a US-brokered ceasefire. Hezbollah itself has doubled down on its refusal to disarm. Four Shiite ministers walked out before the vote. They included members of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc and the allied Amal party, as well as independent Shiite parliamentarian Fadi Makki. Makki said in a post on X that he had "tried to work on bridging the gaps and bringing viewpoints closer between all parties, but I didn't succeed." He said he decided to pull out of the meeting after the other Shiite ministers left. "I couldn't bear the responsibility of making such a significant decision in the absence of a key component from the discussion," he said. The plan to disarm Hezbollah The Lebanese government asked the national army on Tuesday to prepare a plan in which only state institutions will have weapons by the end of the year. After the Cabinet meeting, Hezbollah accused the government of caving in to United States and Israeli pressure and said it would "treat this decision as if it does not exist." Information Minister Paul Morcos later said the Cabinet had voted to adopt a list of general goals laid out in a proposal submitted by US envoy Tom Barrack to Lebanese officials. They include the "gradual end of the armed presence of all non-state actors, including Hezbollah, in all Lebanese territory," the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel, as well as the eventual demarcation of the still-disputed Lebanon-Israel border, he said. The details of the US proposal are still under discussion, Morcos added. Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss giving up its remaining arsenal until Israel withdraws from five hills it is occupying inside Lebanon and stops almost daily air strikes. The strikes have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members, since the war ended in November. While the Cabinet meeting was still underway, an Israeli strike on the road leading to Lebanon's main border crossing with Syria killed five people and injured 10 others, Lebanon's health ministry said. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its military capabilities and said it is protecting its border. Since the ceasefire, Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for one attack across the border. Hezbollah is ideologically aligned with the Gaza-based militant group Hamas and began firing at Israel the day after the war in the Strip started, it says in solidarity with the Palestinian people. International efforts for peace Andrea Tenenti, a spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said that peacekeepers recently found a "vast network of fortified tunnels" in different areas of southern Lebanon. They include "several bunkers, artillery pieces, multiple rocket launchers, hundreds of shells and rockets, anti-tank mines, and other explosive devices," he said. Tenenti did not specify what group was behind the tunnels and the arms. A member of the US Congress said that Washington will push Israel to withdraw from all of southern Lebanon if the Lebanese army asserts full control over the country. Related Borrell meets UNIFIL chief in Beirut, says peacekeepers have 'strong support' of EU Four Italian soldiers wounded in Hezbollah strikes on UN peacekeeping base in Lebanon "We will push hard to make sure that there is — and this is something that I will work with the Israelis on — a complete withdrawal in return for the Lebanese Armed Forces showing its ability to secure all Lebanon," Darrell Issa said, after meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut. He did not specify whether the US would ask Israel to start withdrawing its forces from the territory it is occupying in southern Lebanon before or after Hezbollah gives up its arsenal. Issa, who is of Lebanese origin, said the US must "help all the neighbours around understand that it is the exclusive right of the Lebanese Armed Forces to make decisions."
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
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.'
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Shiite ministers storm out of cabinet meeting on Hezbollah disarmament
Lebanon's Shiite ministers withdrew from a cabinet session Thursday that was convened to adopt a motion to disarm Hezbollah and other non-state groups. Minister of Environment Tamara Zein, Minister of Health Rakan Nasser Al Din, Labour Minister Mohammad Haidar, and Administrative Reform Minister Fadi Makki all withdrew from the heated session before it ended. Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, who was nominated by the Hezbollah-affiliated Amal movement, was not present at the meeting due to travel obligations. Mr Makki, who unlike the other Shiite ministers was not nominated by either Hezbollah or Amal, described it as difficult situation. 'From the beginning, I tried to work on bridging the gaps and bringing viewpoints closer between all parties, but I didn't succeed,' he said. 'I left the session after my colleagues departed, and the decision wasn't easy, but I couldn't bear the responsibility of making such a significant decision in the absence of a key component from the discussion,' he said. 'I hope everyone returns to the dialogue table to continue the discussion with the participation of all parties, ensuring national consensus and shared responsibility.' The cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda ended around half an hour later. President Joseph Aoun earlier on Thursday pledged to assert full control over weapons throughout the country 'despite the difficulties', after Hezbollah rejected a government plan to disarm the group by the end of the year. The 'arms monopoly will be achieved despite the difficulties and obstacles', Mr Aoun told Saudi news channel Al Arabiya. 'Monopolising arms in the hand of the state does not harm Lebanon's rights and sovereignty,' he added. Authorities in Beirut are pushing to disarm the Iran-backed group and other non-state actors and the cabinet was expected to approve the plan on Thursday on after failing to do so at a turbulent meeting on Tuesday. Mr Aoun said the authorities were waiting to 'discuss and approve' an army plan to consolidate weapons under state authority. Tuesday's session ended without a vote but resulted in the announcement of a timeline for disarming all non-state groups by the end of the year. Hezbollah and Amal movement ministers walked out in protest. Hezbollah on Wednesday said rejected the motion outright and said it would treat it 'as if it does not exist'. The group condemned it as a 'great sin'. During Thursday's session, Mr Haidar took a vocal stance against the government's disarmament decision. "We cannot talk about disarming the resistance until the enemy has withdrawn, our prisoners have returned, the attacks have stopped, and reconstruction has begun," the Labour Minister said. "Otherwise, I am sorry, but I cannot take responsibility for an unjust decision against my people, and I will never accept that the state abandons its own." As the cabinet meeting was under way, at least two people were killed and eight injured when Israel bombed at car in Deir Zenoun in the eastern part of Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Ghaleb Abu Zeinab, a member of Hezbollah's political council, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the government had ignored all the issues that had been discussed to adopt a plan that served Israel's interests amid pressure from the US. Mr Abu Zeinab added that the government bypassed Mr Aoun's proposals and 'adopted a plan by US envoy Thomas Barrack, which clearly bears Israeli influence'. The government's adoption of Mr Barrack 's plan represents 'an attempt to help Israel achieve what it was unable to achieve through war', Mr Abu Zeinab said. He warned of the "seriousness of the situation and the impasse the country is heading towards due to its position, which it took under American pressure'. Cabinet efforts to bring arms under state control come as the US exerts intense pressure on the government to commit to a timetable for Hezbollah's disarmament. Lebanon, which for decades has been caught between US and Iranian influence, finds itself back there again – pressed for time as US pressure mounts, Israel continues daily air strikes and Hezbollah refuses to disarm. Tuesday's high-stakes cabinet meeting coincided with a speech by Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, in which he rejected disarmament. It was one of the most defiant public stances by the group – which suffered significant losses during its war with Israel – in months. Hezbollah has consistently rejected discussions over its arms until Israel stops its daily bombardment and withdraws from five points of Lebanese territory occupied during last year's conflict. Hezbollah said the government's attempts to press ahead with disarming the group weakened Lebanon's position amid Israeli and US 'threats' against the country. There has also been a strong reaction from Iran, Hezbollah's main backer. Tehran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: 'This is not the first time they have tried to disarm Hezbollah. Now they think they can disarm Hezbollah, but the position of the Hezbollah leader showed that they stood firm and have a strong position.' Mr Araghchi said Iran supported Hezbollah's statement, but 'would not interfere in the matter'. Lebanon's Foreign Ministry condemned Mr Araghchi's comments, describing them as "unacceptable interference". Under the proposal, the Lebanese army has until the end of the month to prepare a plan to bring all weapons under state control. "The Lebanese army is studying the decision in a very detailed way and considering the difficulties of the plan which the government has tasked it with," said Gen Mounir Shehadeh, who until recently was the government's co-ordinator with the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. "The relationship between the army and Hezbollah has always been good, even until now. 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." Hours after Hezbollah's statement on Wednesday evening, Israel launched a heavy bombing campaign against alleged weapons depots and other infrastructure belonging to the group. One person was killed and two injured in an attack on Deir Seryan, in the south of the country, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. Elsewhere, Unifil said on Thursday that peacekeepers "discovered a vast network of fortified tunnels in the vicinity of Tayr Harfa, Zibqin, and Naqura", including "several bunkers, artillery pieces, multiple rocket launchers, hundreds of shells and rockets, anti-tank mines, and other explosive devices".
