Despite the pressure of the United States, Hezbollah has rejected the calls for his disarmament, saying that doing so would serve the Israeli project '.
The Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, has reiterated the calls for Hezbollah to deliver his weapons to the army, a movement rejected by the group despite the growing pressure of the main ally of Israel, United States.
In a televised speech on Thursday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, Aoun said that the authorities demanded “the extension of the authority of the Lebanese state above all its territory, the elimination of weapons of all armed groups, including Hezbollah and their delivery to the Lebanese army.”
He added that it was the duty of all the parties “to take advantage of this historical opportunity and promote it without hesitation towards affirming the army monopoly and the security forces on weapons over the entire Lebanese territory … to recover the confidence of the world.”
Aoun's comments occurred one day after Hezbollah's head, Naim Qassem, dismissed the calls to disarmed the group, saying that “anyone who calls today the surrender of weapons, whether internally or externally, on the Arab or international stage, is serving the Israeli project.”
Hezbollah officials have said that they will not discuss the remaining arsenal of the group until Israel, with which a total war fought recently, retires from all over Lebanon and ends their attacks.
“For thousandths, I assure you that my concern for having a [state] The monopoly of weapons comes from my concern to defend the sovereignty and borders of Lebanon, to free the occupied Lebanese territories and build a state that accompanies all its citizens, “Aoun said Thursday, addressing Hezbollah's supporters as an” essential pillar “of society.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began on October 8, 2023, since the Lebanese group launched strikes in solidarity with the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, which was under an Israeli attack. Although the fire was reached last November, Israel has maintained its air attacks against Lebanon and threatened to continue until Hezbollah has been disarmed.
According to the terms of Alto El Fuego, Hezbollah had to withdraw his fighters north of the Litani River, about 30 km (20 miles) from the Israeli border. Meanwhile, Israel was destined to get all its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them in five areas that you consider strategic.
In his speech he also demanded the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the liberation of Lebanese prisoners and “an immediate cessation of Israeli hostilities.”
“Today, we must choose between collapse and stability,” he said.
Lebanon presents a proposal for the disarmament of Hezbollah
The Alto El Fuego was based on a previous resolution of the United Nations Security Council that said that only the Lebanese military and caveras should have weapons in the south of the country, and that all non -state groups must be unarmed.
However, this resolution was not fulfilled for years, with the political party backed by Iran and the Arsenal of the armed group before the last war seen so superior to that of the army, and the group wields an extensive political influence.
The United States has been pressing Lebanon to issue a formal decision of the Committed Cabinet to disarm Hezbollah before conversations can resume in Israeli military operations in the country, five sources familiar with the matter to the Reuters news agency said.
Lebanon has proposed modifications to the “ideas” presented by the United States on Hezbollah's disarmament, Aoun said in his speech, and a plan would be discussed at a cabinet meeting next week to “establish a calendar for implementation.”
According to the Lebanese proposal, there would be an “immediate cessation of Israeli hostilities” in Lebanon, including air attacks and directed death, a complete withdrawal of the Israeli forces of the south of Lebanon and the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel, the president added.
Aoun said that Lebanon's proposal also requires international donors to contribute $ 1 billion annually for 10 years to strengthen the abilities of the Lebanese army and an international donor conference to raise funds in autumn for the reconstruction of damaged and destroyed Lebanese areas during the war last year between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon, on the other hand, would implement the “withdrawal of the weapons of all the armed forces, including Hezbollah, and his surrender to the Lebanese army,” he said.
