Lebanon's cabinet began a high-stakes session on Tuesday to discuss restricting weapons possession exclusively to the state, official media reported, amid mounting US pressure on Beirut to set a timetable for the disarmament of Hezbollah.
The Lebanese group, long the most powerful political and military force in Lebanon, has been significantly weakened after more than a year of hostilities with Israel, including two months of all-out war that saw several senior commanders killed, including its former leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the session, which began at 3pm local time (12pm GMT) and was chaired by President Joseph Aoun, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The cabinet is expected to discuss proposals to "extend the state's sovereignty across all its territory exclusively through its own forces", and review the terms of the November ceasefire that halted the latest round of fighting with Israel.
Since the truce, Israel has continued launching near-daily air raids inside Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah infrastructure, and has publicly threatened to keep doing so until the group is disarmed. It also continues to occupy five hilltops in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah is the only faction that retained its weapons following Lebanon’s 1975–1990 civil war, citing its role in "resistance" against Israel, which occupied southern Lebanon until 2000.
A Lebanese official familiar with the discussions told The New Arab's Arabic language edition that Washington was "pressuring Lebanon to make Hezbollah hand over its weapons according to a timetable, but without [the US] providing any guarantees" on Israel's compliance with the November ceasefire agreement.
"Hezbollah will not hand over its weapons without something in return - the Americans know this well," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
US envoy Tom Barrack last month urged Lebanon to "act now" to impose a state monopoly on weapons.
President Aoun followed with a statement saying Lebanon was committed to removing "weapons from all armed groups, including Hezbollah", and surrendering them to the national army.
He warned that Lebanon was at "a crucial stage" and must choose "between collapse and stability", linking international support to the question of disarmament.
But the constitutional legitimacy of such a decision remains highly contested.
While both the president and government are recognised as legitimate, they were not elected with a mandate to disarm Hezbollah or redefine Lebanon’s defence policy.
The Taif Accords, often cited as a foundation for disarmament, were never put to a national referendum, and the parliament that approved them had not been elected in over 20 years at the time.
Hezbollah has rejected the current US position, calling it tantamount to surrender. The group's Al-Manar TV described the American proposal as "Lebanon’s full surrender to the Israeli enemy without any guarantees" that Israel would halt its violations or adhere to the ceasefire.
Before discussing its weapons, Hezbollah has demanded the start of reconstruction in areas destroyed during the war, a full cessation of Israeli attacks, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from five disputed areas, as well as the release of Lebanese prisoners.
Hezbollah's deputy chief, Naim Qassem, is expected to make a statement later on Tuesday.