A ceasefire proposal agreed to by Lebanon and Israel stipulates that only "official military and security forces" in Lebanon are authorised to carry arms in the country, according to a copy of the deal dated on Tuesday and seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
A soldier stands guard next to a poster with the images of late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and late senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, at the entrance of Beirut's southern suburbs, November 27, 2024. Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani
A ceasefire proposal agreed to by Lebanon and Israel stipulates that only "official military and security forces" in Lebanon are authorised to carry arms in the country, according to a copy of the deal dated on Tuesday and seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
It specifically names those forces as the Lebanese Armed Forces, the Internal Security Forces, General Security, State Security, Lebanese customs and municipal police.
Officials in both the Lebanese government and Iran-backed Hezbollah have long referred to cabinet statements since 2008 enshrining the right to "resistance" as providing official approval for Hezbollah's arsenal.
The truce proposal refers to both sides' commitment to fully implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, including provisions that refer to the "disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon".
Hezbollah has not formally commented on the ceasefire but senior official Hassan Fadlallah told Lebanon's Al Jadeed TV late on Tuesday that while the group supported the extension of the Lebanese state's authority, the group would emerge from the war stronger.
"Thousands will join the resistance... Disarming the resistance was an Israeli proposal that fell through," said Fadlallah, who is also a member of Lebanon's parliament.
Reporting by Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily
Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï raised the stakes Sunday, declaring that southern Lebanon "is not a bargaining chip." In his Sunday homily in Mayfouk, in the Jbeil district, the cardinal called for the "protection" of the region, insisting that such protection "begins with the state holding a monopoly on weapons », a thinly veiled call for Hezbollah's disarmament.
The Saudi-led military coalition announced Sunday that it had intercepted a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels toward Riyadh, where explosions were heard at dawn, the first such incident since hostilities resumed between the kingdom and the Iran-backed fighters.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday that Saudi Arabia may have military needs due to the ongoing attacks by Yemen's Houthis and that Turkey was ready to help under a trilateral defence pact that also includes Pakistan.
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