Lebanon was working on disarmament plan before US proposal, Nassar says

Justice Minister Adel Nassar stated Friday that "the Lebanese government was already working on a plan to withdraw Hezbollah's weapons even before the presentation of the American proposal," stating that "any weapon outside the framework of official authorities is contrary to the Constitution and laws, and this is not a matter of debate or opinion."

His remarks, in an interview with the Amman-based Al-Ghad TV channel reported by the state-run National News Agency (NNA), came as Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said Friday in very forceful terms that the party would not give up its weapons as long as Israel continued its attacks. Qassem also warned the Lebanese government of a confrontation if it persisted in the decision made on Aug. 5 to set a timetable for disarmament, in accordance with an American proposal that also calls for the withdrawal of Israel from territories its army occupies in Lebanon.

This proposal was relayed by envoy Tom Barrack, who visited Beirut several times at the start of the summer to promote it.

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Not 'suicide'

In response to Hezbollah’s position that handing over its weapons would be "suicide," a statement made earlier this week by the head of the party's parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, Nassar argued that "the real suicide lies in the choice of unilateral adventurism that has led to military confrontations, causing martyrs and destruction."

This was a direct criticism of Hezbollah's decision on Oct. 8, 2023, to open a front in southern Lebanon in support of Gaza. The opening of this front led to over a year of confrontations, which escalated into near-total war in the last three months before the imperfect cease-fire was reached at the end of last November. "The choice of the state is the guarantor for everyone, and the conditions in the Middle East are evolving, which requires vigilance from all," the minister added.

"Hezbollah cannot consider handing over its weapons as suicide, especially since it signed on to the decisions of the ministerial statement," drafted in the wake of the Nawaf Salam government’s orientation earlier in the year, Nassar added.

"A lawmaker who is a partner in the government cannot tell it ‘do what you want’; partners are expected to help build the state, not block it," he said, while stressing that he "does not believe any political party in Lebanon wants to provoke a confrontation with the Lebanese Army."

Nassar stated that "the Lebanese Army has begun extensively recovering Hezbollah's weapons south of the Litani and has started inventorying weapons north of the Litani."

He added that "all political components, including Hezbollah, will eventually respect the project of state-building, and that Lebanon will not be pushed toward new adventures or internal conflict."