Senior political and security sources say Hezbollah has readied a plan to mobilize supporters from Beirut’s southern suburbs, southern villages and the Bekaa toward key roads, public squares, government offices and military sites to protest a government move to curb its weapons.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is holding intensive contacts with Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem to head off the plan and steer the dispute into dialogue, the sources said.
According to one political source, the outline envisions mass rallies featuring armed participants and show-of-force parades timed with an expected cabinet decision to adopt the army’s framework for restricting Hezbollah’s arsenal. Qassem’s recent video appearance in military fatigues was seen as a mobilization signal, evoking memories of the May 7, 2008 street clashes.
Berri is urging party leaders to avoid steps that could trigger rival factions to deploy their own supporters, the source added. Qassem has publicly rejected any disarmament plan following the visit to Beirut by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack and his deputy Morgan Ortagus.
A senior security official warned that calls for demonstrations in the south could invite direct Israeli strikes, noting current air raids launched on the basis of limited movement cues. He said the army and security agencies have prepared cautious response plans but did not rule out a slide into internal fighting—particularly in Beirut—with the risk of armed elements from Palestinian camps around the southern suburbs joining street confrontations.
