BEIRUT—Hezbollah and the Amal Movement called for a protest on Wednesday afternoon in Beirut to denounce the government’s decision to disarm the resistance, which contradicts “the supreme national interest, the National Accord Document (Ta'if Agreement), and the formula for coexistence.”  

The two Shia movements stated that they would protest “in affirmation of Lebanon’s right to preserve its sovereignty, and the right of its people and resistance to defend and liberate their land from the Israeli occupation, out of belief in the sanctity of the resistance and its honorable weapons that defend the homeland, and out of a desire to protect official Lebanese decision-making from any external pressure.”

“We are about to hold a major national stand to express our rejection of the approach of submission and surrender, and in defense of Lebanon’s strength and sovereignty,” the statement noted, adding, “This stand is an affirmation of our right to preserve our weapons, which have proven their ability to break the back of our enemies, and our right to resist the Israeli enemy that violates our land, occupies part of it, and restricts our freedom.”

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement want the Wednesday to be a day “immortalized in history in the record of your struggle, with your presence and your outcry, which affirms your will to persevere and your rejection of any submission.”

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced willingness to “gradually reduce” the occupation regime’s presence if the Lebanese government takes steps to dismantle Hezbollah. 

“If Lebanese security forces take steps to disarm Hezbollah, Israel will take similar steps, including a gradual reduction of the Israeli military presence in coordination with the United States.”

Praising its recent decision to work toward disarming Hezbollah by the end of 2025, Netanyahu said, “Now is the time for Israel and Lebanon to move forward in a spirit of cooperation, focusing on the shared goal of disarming Hezbollah and promoting stability and prosperity in both countries.”

Axios had revealed that US envoy Thomas Barrack will discuss in the occupied Palestinian territories “the Trump administration’s request that Israel curb attacks on Lebanon and address the issue of the Israeli army’s withdrawal from five positions inside Lebanese territory.”

The U.S. envoy is accompanied by Senator Lindsey Graham, who prefaced his visit to Lebanon with a statement in which he said, “The dismantling of Hezbollah means economic aid for Lebanon.”

Graham added that “the (Persian) Gulf states have made it clear to Lebanon that they will not assist in the reconstruction of the south without the dismantling of Hezbollah.”

Meanwhile, the farce orchestrated by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in cooperation with Ramallah Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is set to continue in the al-Bass refugee camp in Tyre.

Due to the campaign of sarcastic criticism, the Palestinian Authority issued a decree banning its officials from making any media statements. The move is part of a perceived agreement between the Lebanese government and the Palestinian Authority to disarm Palestinian resistance factions in Lebanon.