BEIRUT: Lebanon’s cabinet will meet on Tuesday to discuss Hezbollah’s arsenal, after Washington ramped up pressure on ministers to publicly commit to disarming the Iran-backed group and amid fears Israel could intensify strikes if they fail to do so.
The session scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) at Lebanon’s presidential palace is the first time that cabinet will discuss the fate of Hezbollah’s weapons — unimaginable when the group was at the zenith of its power just two years ago.
Pressure from the US and Hezbollah’s domestic rivals for the group to relinquish its arms has spiked following last year’s war with Israel, which killed Hezbollah’s top leaders and thousands of fighters and destroyed much of its rocket arsenal.
In June, US envoy Thomas Barrack proposed a roadmap to Lebanese officials to fully disarm Hezbollah, in exchange for Israel halting its strikes on Lebanon and withdrawing its troops from five points they still occupy in southern Lebanon.
That proposal included a condition that Lebanon’s government pass a cabinet decision clearly pledging to disarm Hezbollah.
