Arms monopoly: A plan crafted to avoid confrontation, contacts ongoing

BEIRUT —Lebanese officials are engaged in political consultations and contacts aimed at enabling the Cabinet to convene on the army’s disarmament plan on Friday at 3 p.m., while avoiding internal tensions, well-informed sources told L’Orient Today.

The proposal under discussion would see Army Commander Rodolph Haykal present the plan, drafted by the military, which stipulates that only the state may bear arms. The plan would be rolled out in stages. The Cabinet would then take note of the plan, issue a statement praising the army’s initiative and backing its efforts to assert state authority nationwide — acknowledging the plan without formally adopting or voting on it — since the Cabinet already endorsed the principle of state monopoly on arms on Aug. 5.

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The Cabinet statement is also expected to condemn the ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon and call on the international community to exert maximum pressure on Israel.

Talks remain focused on ensuring Shiite ministers take part in the session and do not stage a walkout. Ministers from the Hezbollah-Amal alliance are still leaning toward withdrawal, rejecting the Cabinet’s Aug. 5 and Aug. 7 decisions — one affirming the state monopoly on arms by year’s end, the other adopting the goals of the so-called Barrack plan, a U.S. roadmap for enforcing the Nov. 27, 2024 cease-fire.

A Hezbollah source told L’Orient Today that ongoing contacts aim to secure Cabinet endorsement of the army plan, but without setting a timeline. "Even that scenario does not concern us. Our efforts are aimed at pushing the government to backtrack on its decisions of Aug. 5 and 7," the source added.

Earlier Thursday, Fadi Makki, the only Shiite minister not aligned with Hezbollah or Amal, said preparations for the session had a "reassuring" atmosphere and that his colleagues of the same community were "impatient" to review the plan.

The United States has stepped up pressure on the Cabinet, with Trump administration officials telling the New York Times that Israel could launch a renewed military offensive if Beirut delays action. The Lebanese Army, meanwhile, has ordered its troops to raise their operational readiness.