A few hours before the Cabinet meeting scheduled for this afternoon to discuss US proposals aimed at helping Lebanon restore full sovereignty over its territory and launch a viable recovery process, President Joseph Aoun declared that the decision to disarm armed groups is “irreversible.”
“The exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the state will be achieved, no matter the obstacles or difficulties,” the president said, in a clear reference to Hezbollah’s staunch opposition to the process initiated by the authorities on Tuesday.
“We are only waiting for the army to present its plan for exclusive weapons control, so we can review and adopt it,” Aoun added.
During a meeting chaired by the president on Tuesday at the Baabda presidential palace, the government set a deadline at the end of this year for the disarmament of armed groups, particularly Hezbollah. The Lebanese Army command has been tasked with submitting its proposed plan by August 31.
Thursday’s Cabinet session, scheduled for 3 PM at the presidential palace, is expected to address “the adoption of key decisions regarding the establishment of the state’s monopoly on arms,” Aoun confirmed.
He noted that the ministers would also discuss a US proposal “whose implementation requires green lights from both Syria and Israel, under American and French guarantees.”
President Aoun further stressed that the commitments he made in his inaugural address, as well as the provisions of the ministerial declaration, “will be implemented.”
“The monopoly over the possession and use of weapons does not undermine Lebanon’s rights or its sovereignty,” Aoun asserted, directly countering Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, who on Tuesday claimed that the disarmament process “would strip Lebanon of its strength and subject it to Israel.”
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