Lebanese Christian party head: Hezbollah should abandon its arms to end war

The head of Lebanon’s largest Christian party says that the Iran-backed Hezbollah should relinquish its weapons as quickly as possible to end its yearlong war with Israel and spare Lebanon further death and destruction.

Samir Geagea, Hezbollah’s fiercest political opponent in Lebanon, speaks to Reuters at his mountain home and party headquarters in Maarab, north of Beirut.

“With the destruction of all of Hezbollah’s infrastructure and its warehouses, a big part of Lebanon is also being destroyed. That’s the price,” he says.

The intense pressure of Israel’s military campaign presents an opportunity to get the country back on track, Geagea says.

“If the challenges and the prices paid are so big, then we can take advantage of them to get the situation back to normal,” he says, calling on Hezbollah and the Lebanese state to swiftly implement local accords and international resolutions disbanding armed factions outside the control of the state.

“That is the shortest way to end the war. It’s the least costly way for Lebanon and for the Lebanese people,” he adds.

Despite his decades-old opposition to Hezbollah, Geagea, 72, says he opposes the Lebanese army forcefully disarming the group.