Lebanon drafts response to US demands for cabinet to approve Hezbollah disarmament

Beirut is under immense US pressure to bring all weapons under state control as soon as possible

Lebanon's top political leaders are drafting a response to recent demands from the US, which include the addition of Hezbollah’s disarmament to the official government agenda as soon as possible, political sources told The National.

President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri are preparing a joint letter to reply to the issues listed in a document delivered by US special envoy Tom Barrack, who recently visited Beirut and has taken charge of the Lebanon file for Washington.

“It's going to include some of the narratives of Hezbollah and some of the narratives of President Aoun and some of Prime Minister Salam. It's bits and pieces from here and there,” said a political source.

US pressures Lebanon to approve Hezbollah disarmament

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Consultations among the three Lebanese leaders about their response are continuing, a source close to Mr Salam said. At least two meetings have been held so far, one on Saturday and another on Monday.

Sources previously told The National that the US wants Hezbollah to hand over its weapons within a set time frame, and for the cabinet to formally approve the process to give it legal weight.

They said the consultations over Lebanon's response were focused on the idea of rephrasing the US document to make it more acceptable to the Lebanese side, specifically by emphasising mutual steps from both Lebanon and Israel.

Israel continues to bomb south Lebanon nearly daily and occupy five points of Lebanese territory despite a ceasefire deal that ended its war with Hezbollah last year.

The Iran-backed paramilitary and political party was severely weakened by the war, with most of its top commanders killed and large chunks of its largest weapons destroyed – although not all of them.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah must withdraw all military equipment and fighters from southern Lebanon, and all non-state militant groups must be disarmed across the country. The Lebanese army has sent troops to those positions instead, as part of a continuing process.

The Lebanese government has accused Israel of breaching the truce more than 3,000 times. It says Hezbollah has abided by its side of the bargain.

The international community is also demanding real efforts to disarm Hezbollah in order for Lebanon to receive billions of dollars of international aid needed to rebuild the country after the war.

Mr Aoun insists he wants to bring all weapons under state control as soon as possible, but through diplomatic means.

Hezbollah has previously said that any talk about its weapons – a deeply sensitive matter and a discussion that was previously taboo – or a broader national defence strategy cannot happen until Israel withdraws from Lebanon.

Hezbollah's chief, Naim Qassem, questioned how it could possibly give up its weapons while Lebanon remained under attack from Israel.

The group stayed out of the recent 12-day war between Israel and Iran amid strong internal and external pressure.

While heavily bruised, Hezbollah is still believed to possess medium and long-range missiles, and it continues to command a broad Shiite support base.