https://arab.news/9sqc3
The Lebanese Cabinet has tasked the army with drafting a plan outlining how weapons in the country should be managed. It will mainly target those held by Hezbollah, with the aim of placing the organization’s arsenal under state control by the end of the year.
It is undeniable that this is a historic step, as it is the first time that representatives of the Lebanese state have dared to discuss a plan that would advance efforts to disarm Hezbollah and any other armed factions. This would have been unimaginable only a year ago.
The announcement, which came a day after the fifth anniversary of the 2020 explosion at Beirut Port, is a first step that could ultimately bring justice and more to the country. Now, though, we should manage expectations, and the actual outcome, as this is one of the most challenging, yet the most crucial, issues for the future stability and reconstruction of Lebanon.
As expected, the response from Hezbollah did not take long. As the staging required, it did not even wait for the end of the Cabinet meeting during which the plan was agreed. While that meeting of ministers to discuss the state’s monopoly on weapons was still taking place, Hezbollah’s chief, Naim Qassem, delivered a speech that strongly rejected the idea of disarmament or a timetable for achieving it.
