Hezbollah Warns Of Street Action If Lebanon Moves To Curb Weapons

(MENAFN- IANS) Beirut, Sep 4 (IANS) Hezbollah has warned it could mobilise supporters in the streets if Lebanon's government moves ahead with a decision to disarm the Iran-backed group by the end of 2025, senior official Mahmoud Qomati said.

Qomati, deputy head of Hezbollah's Political Council, told local media on Wednesday that the plan was "unconstitutional, illegitimate, and in violation of both the national charter and international law, which permits resistance under occupation".

He said that Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement, would boycott parliamentary sessions if lawmakers advanced steps to enforce the measures, Xinhua news agency reported.

"If we see the session moving to solidify these decisions and lay out steps for execution, we will not attend, and we will head to popular confrontation," he added.

Qomati said that Hezbollah would refrain from escalation if the decisions remained "born dead" and unenforced.

He warned that implementing the resolutions would destabilise Lebanon.

"Anyone who seeks stability -- international, regional or local -- must recognise that enforcing these decisions will endanger it and serve no one's interest," he said.

Lebanon's government recently approved a plan to disarm all non-state actors, including Hezbollah, by the end of 2025.

The move has deepened political divisions and raised fears of instability.

Hezbollah has rejected the plan, saying its arsenal is needed to defend Lebanon against potential threats from Israel.

Hezbollah Chief Naim Qassem threatened the Lebanese government last month over its efforts to disarm his Iran-linked terror group, claiming that there would be "no life in Lebanon" should its weapons be taken by force.

Qassem warned that Hezbollah would fight to keep its weapons, saying any forcible seizure would lead to internal unrest, undermining the country's national security.

He further accused the government of buckling to Israel, saying its leaders were "implementing an American-Israeli order to end the resistance, even if it leads to civil war and internal strife".

"The resistance will not surrender its weapons while aggression continues, occupation persists, and we will fight it... if necessary to confront this American-Israeli project no matter the cost," he said, cautioning the government "not to hand over the country to an insatiable Israeli aggressor or an American tyrant with limitless greed".

Hezbollah and the Amal movement, its Shia Muslim ally, had decided to delay any street protests against a US-backed disarmament plan as they still see room for dialogue with the Lebanese government, he added.

But he added that any future protests could reach the US Embassy in Lebanon.

The Hezbollah Chief levelled the threats as the Lebanese Cabinet moves forward with the implementation of a US-backed roadmap to disarm Hezbollah, in line with a 2006 UN Security Council resolution that was largely ignored until the organisation received a brutal beating in the 2023-2024 conflict with Israel.

Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy that has acted largely in line with Tehran's wishes over the years.

Iran and its so-called "axis of resistance" -- including Hamas in Gaza and Yemen's Houthis -- have suffered a series of blows in their long-running quest to eliminate Israel after Hamas sparked the ongoing war with Gaza with its October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israeli communities.

Hezbollah suffered devastating losses to its infrastructure and leadership after launching cross-border attacks on Israel a day after the October 2023 Hamas-led attack.

In September 2024, Israel launched a major offensive against the group, which ended with a November 2024 ceasefire.

Israel has already signaled it will not hesitate to launch military actions if Beirut fails to tackle the group, and routinely carries out airstrikes in Lebanon despite the ceasefire.

It said it is responding to violations of the agreement and that the truce's terms allow it to do so.

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