Hezbollah dictates not to recognise the Disarmament Decision treating it ‘As if It Does Not Exist’.

On Wednesday, 06^th. August, Hezbollah has reiterated, that it would treat Beirut’s decision a day earlier to disarm it “as if it did not exist”, accusing the cabinet of committing a “grave sin”.

Amid US pressure, and fears of Israel expanding its strikes on Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the government “tasked the Lebanese army with setting an implementation plan to restrict weapons” to the army and other state forces “before the end of this year”. The plan is to be presented to the cabinet by the end of August for discussion and approval.

In its first response to the decision, Hezbollah said: “Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government committed a grave sin by taking the decision to disarm Lebanon of its weapons to resist the Israeli enemy. This decision undermines Lebanon’s sovereignty and gives Israel a free hand to tamper with its security, geography, politics and future existence… Therefore, we will treat this decision as if it does not exist.”

Hezbollah said it views the decision as “the result of dictates from US envoy” Tom Barrack, referring to a proposal he submitted to authorities calling for the group’s disarmament within a timetable. It “fully serves Israel’s interests and leaves Lebanon exposed to the Israeli enemy without any deterrence”, according to Hezbollah.

The government said its decision came as part of the implementation of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel on November 27. The agreement stipulated that government authorities including the army and internal security forces should be the exclusive bearers of weapons in Lebanon.

In its statement, Hezbollah reiterated its condition that Israel must halt its strikes on Lebanon before a new defense strategy is discussed. “We are open to dialogue, ending the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, liberating its land, releasing prisoners, working to build the state, and rebuilding what was destroyed by the brutal aggression”, the group said, adding that it was “prepared to discuss a national security strategy”, but not under Israeli fire.

Hezbollah-affiliated Health Minister Rakan Nassereldine and Environment Minister Tamara Elzein, who is affiliated with its ally Amal, walked out of Tuesday’s meeting. Hezbollah described the move as “an expression of rejection” of the government’s decision and “the decision to subject Lebanon to American tutelage and Israeli occupation”.

It was Shukr, the first senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel in cross-border exchanges that erupted after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Weeks after his death, the hostilities escalated into a full-blown war, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on November 27 last year.

Under the truce, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, leaving the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers as the only armed parties to its south. Qassem said he considered the ceasefire agreement to apply “exclusively south of the Litani river. However, if some link weapons to the agreement, I say to them: weapons are an internal Lebanese affair that has nothing to do… with the Israeli enemy”.

Washington has been ramping up pressure on Beirut to disarm Hezbollah, with Barrack making several visits for talks with Lebanese officials. Under the truce deal, Israel was supposed to have withdrawn all of its troops from Lebanon, but it has kept them in five areas it deems strategic.

Israel has also kept up its air strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite the ceasefire, threatening to continue them until the group has been disarmed. “The imminent danger is the Israeli aggression… this aggression must stop”, Qassem said. “All political discourse in the country must be directed toward stopping the aggression, not toward handing over weapons to Israel”.

A Lebanese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “Lebanese authorities are currently under international and regional pressure, with demands that they formally commit to disarming Hezbollah in a cabinet meeting”. Lebanon’s demand that Israel completes its withdrawal before Hezbollah is disarmed was rejected by the United States, according to a Lebanese source with knowledge of the matter.

Team Maverick