Hezbollah: 'Lebanese party' trying to disarm it while getting 'American weapons'

The vice president of Hezbollah's political council, Mahmoud Qomati, on Sunday accused a "Lebanese party," without naming it, of seeking to disarm the group while itself allegedly receiving "all kinds of American weapons."

These remarks come at a time when Hezbollah is facing a campaign led notably by the Lebanese Forces (LF), who are calling for faster disarmament of the group, as the executive has committed itself to restoring the state's monopoly on arms.

Qomati, a former minister, also warned Israel against a new war in Lebanon, saying any escalation "will bring nothing" to Israel, while Israeli threats of another campaign are reported almost daily in the Israeli press, and as Tel Aviv continues to accuse Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its capabilities.

"You should not consider a new war against Lebanon, nor an escalation similar to war, because it will bring you nothing," Qomati said in an address to Israel during a speech in southern Lebanon on "Martyr's Day."

He also insisted that "the enemy failed to achieve its goals during the last war," and warned Israel's "American sponsor." "If you act aggressively toward Lebanon, we will confront you and defend our homeland, our people and our nation," he declared.

Qomati then attacked "the leader of a Lebanese party [who] insolently demands the disarmament of Hezbollah, which is also considered a Lebanese party."

The leader "fought the Lebanese Army and killed members of all communities, as well as Sunni and Maronite leaders," the official accused, referring to LF leader Samir Geagea.

At the end of the civil war, between 1989 and 1990, Geagea and other groups clashed with the Lebanese Army loyal to Michel Aoun at the time, who had then been appointed prime minister.

The Maronite leader is the only former militia chief to have been tried and imprisoned after the war for the assassinations of political figures such as Rachid Karami, Tony Frangieh and Dany Chamoun.

He spent 11 years in prison between 1994 and 2005 before being pardoned by the Lebanese Parliament.

"Moreover, this party's warehouses are filled with all types of American weapons delivered to it every day. The United States is reinforcing these warehouses and doing everything possible to disarm the 'resistance' [Hezbollah], in order to weaken the nation, eliminate the country's strength and erase the Lebanese entity from the map so that it becomes part of Greater Israel," Qomati accused.

Geagea has, for several weeks, been leading a campaign against the party's arsenal and takes every opportunity to call for its disarmament. In a statement last week, he recalled that the government decided on Aug. 7 "to gradually end the armed presence of all non-governmental entities, including Hezbollah, throughout Lebanese territory, south and north of the Litani."

In October 2021 — a week after the bloody Tayyouneh events that pitted gunmen from the Amal and Hezbollah alliance against rooftop snipers accused by them of being from the LF — Hezbollah's former secretary general Hassan Nasrallah accused the LF of being "a murderous militia" and denounced the "weapons and training" of the party.

Regarding the situation in southern Lebanon, Qomati also stated: "The Israeli enemy is carrying out aggressions, killing and destroying daily, without anyone preventing or opposing it, neither the cease-fire monitoring committee chaired by the United States and France, nor the Lebanese state, nor the Lebanese Army, nor the resistance, nor anyone else."

Economic pressure

For his part, Hezbollah MP Hassan Ezzeddine denounced Sunday "ongoing economic pressure, particularly on money transfers and the association al-Qard al-Hassan," during a speech at a ceremony for the "martyrs" of the locality of Debal Al Majadel, in southern Lebanon.

"This pressure aims to dry up Hezbollah's financial resources. It is dangerous for Lebanon's economy and will affect all the Lebanese people, without exception. The enemy does not differentiate between Shiite, Sunni or Maronite. By applying pressure, it can later impose its conditions, as it has done in Syria," he said.

During a visit to Lebanon last week, a U.S. delegation called for the closure of all branches of the financial institution al-Qard al-Hassan, linked to Hezbollah and sanctioned by the United States, throughout Lebanese territory.

Washington is seeking to increase measures to prevent the party from receiving Iranian funds or any other source of financing.

Another Hezbollah MP, Hussein Hajj Hassan, for his part, said Sunday that "Israel is seeking to impose a buffer zone in Lebanon," during a party event in Shaath (Baalbeck district). "The Americans and Israelis are talking about an economic zone emptied of its inhabitants in southern Lebanon. The 'resistance' will confront this project and all Lebanese should do the same," he added.