The Kataeb party called on Tuesday for "discussing a clear mechanism to collect Hezbollah's illegal weapons" following the escalation at the Lebanese-Israeli border on Saturday.

After an internal meeting, Kataeb expressed their "deep concern" over the "persistent violation of the cease-fire agreement" between Israel and Hezbollah, emphasizing their full confidence in "the Lebanese army's ability to maintain an effective and strict presence, especially at the border and its capacity to uncover the circumstances of the rocket fire from Lebanon and identify those responsible." The party stressed "the necessity of not giving Israel further pretext to launch attacks against Lebanon."

They called for "discussing a clear mechanism to collect illegal weapons and including this issue on the cabinet's agenda, with the aim of setting a specific and explicit timetable for its implementation." According to them, this measure would allow "Lebanon to exit the cycle of permanent wars and to strengthen stability and security."

Israel carried out strikes against southern Lebanon on Saturday, which resulted in eight deaths, in response to rocket fire that targeted its territory. Hezbollah denied any involvement in the incident.

Electoral law and municipalities

Kataeb also said that "the upcoming electoral deadlines should not be an excuse to suspend or delay the examination of the weapons issue, which remains a top priority."

They emphasized the need to "hold legislative elections on time," stating that "any positive discussion that could improve the electoral law is welcome and deserves consideration, provided that a blockage in this process does not serve as an excuse to delay this deadline, under the pretext of a lack of consensus among parliamentary groups."

The party rejected "any electoral law that would compromise the validity of a correct representation," stating that "any approach deviating from that of strengthening democracy, ensuring freedom of expression, and exercising electoral rights under the auspices and supervision of the state constitutes an unacceptable setback in the democratic process of the country."

The debate on the electoral law in anticipation of the legislative elections planned for 2026 was reignited in Lebanon after a bill was presented by MP Ali Hassan Khalil (Amal), the right-hand man of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. The law provides for amending the 2017 electoral law, based on which the 2018 and 2022 legislative elections took place, for the elections to be held in 2026. It notably plans to add six MPs representing the diaspora to the current 128 parliamentarians. According to the law, the election would be held under a proportional voting system, as it is currently the case, but where Lebanon would represent only one constituency. The current electoral law divides Lebanon into 15 electoral constituencies, in which each voter votes for an open list of candidates, with the possibility of using a single preferential vote within the chosen list. The second law provides for the election of a Senate of 46 members, elected for six years, on a confessional basis.

Kataeb finally welcomed the setting of the dates for the municipal elections and called on their supporters to participate. The Ministry of Interior set the dates of the municipal elections across Lebanon, which will take place every Sunday from May 4 across the country. MP Neemat Frem announced on Tuesday his alliance with the Lebanese Forces (LF), the Kataeb, and former independent MP Mansour al-Bon for these elections.