Jaafarite Mufti Ahmad Kabalan issued a thinly veiled threat against those calling for the disarmament of Hezbollah, indicating that any "error" on this issue could "blow up Lebanon," adding that any national defense strategy must include Hezbollah's forces.

These statements come as Israel still occupies five strategic sites in southern Lebanon, despite being supposed to withdraw from them on Feb.18, in accordance with the truce agreement that came into effect on Nov.27 and whose terms were adjusted along the way and is still conducting strikes on Lebanese territory.

On the Lebanese side, the terms of the cease-fire imply that Hezbollah will start transferring its weapons to the Lebanese army. On Monday, President Joseph Aoun, elected on Jan. 9, confirmed that this decision "has been made" and that "its implementation will be through dialogue, far from any form of recourse to force." In Lebanese political circles, the Lebanese Forces – who are represented in the government – and the Kataeb have made strong calls to initiate this process. On Tuesday, the Head of State declared for the first time that Hezbollah's "fighters can join the army and undergo integration training."

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This perspective does not seem to suit Kabalan. "Resistance is the assurance of sovereignty and survival of a country, and any error on the issue of resistance (to Israel) and its weapons will blow up Lebanon," stated the religious leader, who is one of the reference figures of the Shiite community in Lebanon and is considered close to the Amal-Hezbollah tandem.

"Resistance is not a militia"

He then argued that the "resistance" and the Lebanese army "together constitute the legitimate force that guarantees Lebanon's protection against the Zionist arsenal and unconditional American support for Israel," adding that "anyone questioning this equation is questioning Lebanon."

"The national defense strategy involves exploiting the force of the resistance and that of the army," he continued, adding that dismantling Hezbollah "exposes Lebanon to Israeli terrorism," pointing to the almost daily incidents involving the Israeli army "south of the Litani." "The idea of absorbing or monopolizing weapons with a weak state makes no sense," he said again.

"To speak frankly, impotence does not protect the country, and weakness does not allow for the recovery of occupied lands," continued the mufti, reproaching the Lebanese state for "disengaging from the south of the river, abandoning the southern inhabitants to their fate without even batting an eye." "We will not allow neither the South nor Lebanon to be delivered to the enemy," he hammered. He also found it "astonishing" that "the government and official bodies treat the South, the southern suburbs, and the Bekaa as if they were not Lebanese." "Some even delight in this destruction," he added. Hezbollah is very present in these three regions, which were heavily bombed by Israel during the war that began on Oct.8, 2023.

Insisting on the fact that Hezbollah has since its creation substituted for a "state that has never been up to its responsibilities in defending Lebanon," he also accused Arab countries of having "historically opened the Lebanese front" before some of them "turned against it and sought to get rid of it." "The diplomatic option is a cemetery for the nation," he further stated before concluding: "Resistance is resistance, it is not a militia. No state in the world renounces the force that liberated it. The time has come to protect Lebanon by integrating the resistance and the army into a defensive strategy, not to sell out the country on the altar of illusions."

The war between Hezbollah and Israel has killed over 4,000 people in Lebanon and caused $14 billion in damage and economic losses. Since the beginning of the truce, 140 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to our count.