Hezbollah on Wednesday condemned a Lebanese cabinet decision to task the army with creating a state monopoly on weapons as a “grave sin,” deepening a split over calls for the Shi’ite group to disarm.
Under the resolution approved on Tuesday, Lebanon’s armed forces must draw up a plan by year-end to restrict arms to six official security bodies. Washington has pressed Beirut to strip Hezbollah of its arsenal—retained since the end of the civil war in 1990—even as other militias disarmed.
In a written response, Hezbollah accused Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government of bowing to U.S. “diktats” and serving “Israel’s interest.” The group said Shi’ite ministers exited the cabinet session in protest and vowed to treat the decision “as if it does not exist.”
Hezbollah reiterated its willingness to negotiate a comprehensive national security strategy, urging supporters to remain patient.
The issue of Hezbollah’s weapons was first formally raised in cabinet since last year’s Israel-Hezbollah war. A U.S.-brokered November ceasefire called on Lebanon to seize unauthorised arms and on Israel to halt offensive operations, yet Israeli troops and air strikes have persisted along the southern border.
In June, U.S. officials proposed a roadmap linking Hezbollah’s full disarmament to an Israeli withdrawal and cessation of strikes. Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, have insisted that any talks on weapons follow a halt to Israeli operations.
Amal on Wednesday urged the government to concentrate on consolidating the ceasefire and said Thursday’s cabinet meeting offers a chance to reverse course.
Imad Salamey, chair of Political and International Studies at Lebanese American University, warned that Shi’ites—who bore the brunt of last year’s conflict—fear disarmament would leave their communities exposed. “We are most probably heading into a more polarized political landscape,” he told Reuters.
