President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference in Bkirki on Dec. 25, 2025. (Photo: NNA)
As the end of the year approaches, along with the close of the first phase of the army plan to restore the monopoly on weapons, President Joseph Aoun said Thursday from the seat of the Maronite Church in Bkirki that disarmament would “go all the way.”
He later clarified that how this categorical decision is enforced will depend on the circumstances. It was a nuanced commitment, as the army is soon expected to launch the second phase of disarmament, this time north of the Litani River.
While Hezbollah is not opposed to handing its arsenal to the Lebanese Army south of the river, it has refused to do so in the rest of the country, as Israel continues to increase pressure on the ground.
Before the church service, Aoun met privately with Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai. He then spoke to the press.
When a reporter asked him about the monopoly on weapons, a decision the government adopted in early August, Aoun replied: “We will go all the way. I repeat, the decision has been made and we will implement it.”
He added that the authorities will apply this decision according to the circumstances.
Since the start of his term, Aoun has promoted a “soft” approach to disarmament, based on dialogue, saying he fears tensions in the country if the authorities force Hezbollah to hand over its weapons.
‘The specter of war no longer looms’
Aoun also said that “the specter of war no longer looms,” after some had feared a major Israeli offensive on Lebanon. He said diplomatic contacts “have not stopped” in order to spare the country an escalation, citing talks with “influential countries,” including the U.S., Arab countries and the European Union.
“Naturally, in any negotiation, each side tries to raise the ceiling of its demands, but I remain optimistic,” he said, referring to talks launched between Lebanese and Israeli military and civilian representatives in Naqoura as part of the “Mechanism,” the committee monitoring the cease-fire.
Aoun announced on Dec. 3 the appointment of a diplomat, Simon Karam, to this group, as a goodwill gesture in response to Israeli and American calls for talks that go beyond the military framework.
Despite this optimism, the president said that “a gaping wound remains in the South, whose residents have not yet returned to their land, while our prisoners are still in Israeli prisons and the attacks continue.”
Israeli strikes killed three people on Thursday alone.
‘Let MPs debate the electoral law’
On the parliamentary elections, which are normally scheduled for May but remain uncertain amid political tensions over how expatriates will vote, Aoun said that “Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and I are determined to hold the elections on the scheduled date.”
“In keeping with the principle of separation of powers, Parliament has a role to play,” Aoun said. “MPs should go to the Chamber and debate the law they want.”
His comments came as Berri refuses to place amendments to the electoral law on the agenda of Parliament regarding the diaspora vote, while MPs opposing Hezbollah, led by the Lebanese Forces (LF), continue to boycott parliamentary sessions as long as Parliament cannot debate those amendments.
Parties that support the amendments want expatriates to vote for the 128 MPs elected inside the country, as they did in the past two elections, rather than for six additional MPs reserved for the diaspora, as stipulated in the 2017 electoral law.
This article was originally published in French on L'Orient-Le Jour and was translated by Sahar Ghoussoub.
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