Lebanese president outlines plan to disarm Hezbollah, says IDF harming process

Lebanese president outlines plan to disarm Hezbollah, says IDF harming process

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says all weapons in Lebanon must come under exclusive state control in 2025, and describes his plan to do so through direct coordination with Hezbollah in an interview with the Qatari-backed New Arab outlet.

“The decision has been made to place all weapons under the state,” says Aoun, adding, “The execution will happen through dialogue, which I believe must be bilateral between the presidency and Hezbollah.”

Aoun is committed to avoiding internal conflict while pursuing the agenda, which could greatly weaken Hezbollah’s longstanding military and political power in the country, saying he recently told US deputy Mideast envoy Morgan Ortagus, “We want to remove Hezbollah’s weapons, but we will not ignite a civil war in Lebanon.”

The president addresses growing success in asserting the authority of the Lebanese military over the Iran-backed Shiite militia, saying “We have reached the point where the [Lebanese] army is carrying out its missions—south of the Litani, north of the Litani, and even in the Bekaa—without any obstruction from Hezbollah.”

Aoun suggests Hezbollah members could be integrated into the Lebanese army, while also pushing back against US pressure on Lebanon to suppress Hezbollah, urging Washington to shift their focus onto Israel.

“I told Ortagus that Israel’s presence in the five disputed points gives Hezbollah a pretext to keep its weapons,” says Aoun, referring to five strategic points where IDF troops have remained in Lebanon since a November ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Israel says these positions are crucial for protecting Israel’s northern residents amid ongoing conflict with the terror group.

Auon rejects the possibility for normalization with Israel in the near future, saying “The Americans know there can be no negotiations with Israel at this stage.”

According to The New Arab, Auon also says that French President Emmanuel Macron has offered to assist Lebanon and Syria in efforts to demarcate their land border, including the Shebaa Farms area, a major flashpoint of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

While the disputed area, a key strategic vantage point for military forces, has been under Israeli control since the IDF captured it from Syria in the Six Day War, Macron offered to assist negotiations “by providing French archival records that affirm Shebaa Farms’s Lebanese identity.”