BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah on Wednesday sharply criticized the Lebanese government’s decision to begin a process aiming to disarm the Iran-backed group this year, saying it “fully achieves” neighboring Israel’s interests.
Hezbollah also said in a statement it is ready for a dialogue over its weapons, adding that the Lebanese government should work on “liberating” areas in the country’s south still occupied by Israel following a 14-month war with Hezbollah and freeing Lebanese who are still held there.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese government asked the national army to prepare a plan in which only state institutions will have weapons by the end of the year. Hezbollah is also a major Shiite political party that runs a wide network of social institutions.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the government asked the army to have the plan ready by the end of the month for discussion and approval. The decision came shortly after Hezbollah’s leader said his group would not disarm and warned that the Iran-backed faction would resume missile attacks on Israel if military operations against it intensify.
Hezbollah’s new statement said Salam’s government “has committed a grave sin that rips Lebanon of weapons to resist Israel.” It asserts that the Lebanese government’s decision “came as a result of the dictation by U.S. envoy (Tom) Barrack,” and said the decision to disarm Hezbollah weakens Lebanon as “the Israeli-American aggression continues.”
Beirut is under U.S. pressure to disarm the group that was left gravely weakened by its war with Israel, with many of its political and military leaders dead. The war started a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack against Israel from Gaza, as Hezbollah said it targeted Israel in solidarity with Palestinians.
The war left more than 4,000 people dead and caused damage worth $11 billion, and ended with a November ceasefire.
Since then, Hezbollah officials have said the group will not discuss its disarmament until Israel withdraws from five hills it controls inside Lebanon and stops almost daily airstrikes that have killed or wounded hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah members.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild its military capabilities. Since the ceasefire, Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for one attack on a disputed area along the border.
