Hezbollah chief says terror group’s disarmament is not ‘in Lebanon’s interest’

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem says moves to disarm the terror group in Lebanon are an “Israeli-American plan,” accusing Israel of failing to abide by a ceasefire agreement reached last year.

Under heavy US pressure and the possibility of expanded Israeli strikes, the Lebanese military is expected to complete Hezbollah’s disarmament south of the Litani River — located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Israel — by the end of the year.

It is then meant to tackle disarming the Iran-backed group in the rest of the country.

“Disarmament is an Israeli-American plan,” Qassem says.

“To demand exclusive arms control while Israel is committing aggression and America is imposing its will on Lebanon, stripping it of its power, means that you are not working in Lebanon’s interest, but rather in the interest of what Israel wants.”

The ceasefire required both Israel and Hezbollah to vacate southern Lebanon, to be replaced by the Lebanese armed forces. Israel has withdrawn from all but five strategic posts along the border.

Since the ceasefire, the IDF said it has killed over 380 Hezbollah operatives and members of allied terror groups in strikes, hit hundreds of Hezbollah sites, and conducted over 1,200 raids and other small operations in southern Lebanon. The IDF says the strikes target Hezbollah attempts to rebuild in violation of the deal.

Israel has questioned the Lebanese military’s effectiveness and has accused Hezbollah of rearming, while the group itself has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.

“The deployment of the Lebanese army south of the Litani River was required only if Israel had adhered to its commitments… to halting the aggression, withdrawing, releasing prisoners, and having reconstruction commence,” Qassem says in a televised address.

“With the Israeli enemy not implementing any of the steps of the agreement… Lebanon is no longer required to take any action on any level before the Israelis commit to what they are obligated to do,” he says.

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal told a military meeting on Tuesday “the army is in the process of finishing the first phase of its plan.”

He said the army is carefully planning “for the subsequent phases” of disarmament.