Lebanon: Hezbollah vows to keep weapons as US pushes disarmament

Hezbollah has firmly rejected a US-backed proposal to disarm by November in exchange for an Israeli military withdrawal and reconstruction aid, warning that such a move would be "suicidal" amid continued Israeli attacks and rising regional tensions.

In a speech on Wednesday, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said the group would not "surrender its land or weapons", dismissing any deal involving "external interference" as a strategic threat.

His comments came as Lebanon's government works to finalise its response to the American proposal, delivered by envoy Tom Barrack last month in Beirut.

The US plan reportedly calls for Hezbollah and other armed factions to hand over their weapons, particularly north of the Litani River, as a condition for an Israeli withdrawal, border demarcation with Syria, and a halt to ongoing Israeli airstrikes.

But Hezbollah, which has long rejected including northern Lebanon in disarmament talks, views the proposal as a veiled attempt to neutralise the group while Israel maintains control over five disputed points in southern Lebanon and continues near-daily attacks.

Sources close to Hezbollah told the Al-Akhbar newspaper that the group sees the proposal as a "deception" aimed at weakening Lebanon under the guise of diplomacy.

The focus on the disarmament north of the Litani River marks a shift in diplomatic pressure. For decades, international efforts, including UN Security Council Resolution 1701, passed after the 2006 war, concentrated on demilitarising the area south of the river, which Israel invaded and occupied in multiple conflicts.

The new proposal expands that pressure northward, sparking fears that it aims to dismantle Hezbollah’s entire military infrastructure across Lebanon.

According to retired Lebanese army brigadier general Ali Abi Radd, the Litani River has long held strategic importance for Israel due to its proximity, roughly 30 kilometres, to the Israeli border.

He told The New Arab that the latest US proposal reflects a broader Israeli-US strategy to push Hezbollah further north, beyond the river's edge, to neutralise its short-range missile capabilities.

Abi Radd added that while the Lebanese army had dismantled some Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, the group's military presence remains robust in the north and in areas like Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, territories which were not covered by Resolution 1701.

Despite this, Hezbollah insists its arms are part of Lebanon's defence, especially in light of Israel’s repeated violations of the November 2024 ceasefire.

The Lebanese government is reportedly holding intensive talks to produce a unified national response to Barrack's proposal before his expected return to Beirut.

President Joseph Aoun, who has made disarming Hezbollah a political priority, has stressed that the issue must be handled through consensus and dialogue, and not coercion.

Legal expert and academic Ali Mourad told The New Arab that the artificial division between the north and south of the Litani was losing relevance both politically and historically.

"There is no longer any meaningful distinction," he said. "The question of arms is now a broader geopolitical issue, which is shaped by power balances, the fall of the Syrian regime, and the shifting fortunes of the Iran-led axis in the region."

He warned that the current balance of power was no longer in Hezbollah's favour, and that the US-Israeli push to force a new political and security reality in Lebanon may mark the beginning of a new phase in the country’s modern history.