Hezbollah rejects disarmament as "Israeli diktat"

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said the Lebanese government’s decree to remove the resistance group’s weapons is a grave mistake taken under Israeli diktats.
“If this government continues in this form, it cannot be a trustee of Lebanon’s sovereignty unless it retracts its decision,” he said, Al Jazeera reported.
Qassem also reiterated that Hezbollah will not give up its weapons.
“The resistance will remain as a strong barrier preventing Israel from achieving its goals, and Israel will not be able to remain in Lebanon or achieve its expansionist project through Lebanon,” the Hezbollah chief said.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam tasked the Lebanese army to develop a plan to restrict weapons to the state by the end of the year, a decision that aims to disarm Hezbollah.
This came after the Lebanese Council of Ministers approved a resolution last month tasking the army with formulating a plan to disarm the movement.
The decree was in accordance with a US initiative that includes vague promises that Israel would end its occupation of parts of south Lebanon and daily attacks on the country if Hezbollah’s weapons are removed.
Hezbollah said it will treat the decision “as if it doesn’t exist”.
Hezbollah has for decades defended Lebanon from external aggression, especially from the Israeli enemy.
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire that took effect on November 27, 2024. Under the deal, Israel was required to withdraw fully from Lebanese territory—but has kept forces stationed at five sites, in southern Lebanon, namely Labbouneh, Mount Blat, Owayda Hill, Aaziyyeh, and Hammamis Hill.
This occupation constitutes a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the terms of the agreement reached last November.
Since the implementation of the ceasefire, Israel has violated the agreement more than 3,700 times through repeated assaults on Lebanese territory. Lebanese authorities have warned that the regime’s violations of the ceasefire threaten national stability.