Hezbollah calls Israel to commit to a ceasefire and calls Lebanon’s action on the army proposal a “opportunity.”

“An opportunity to return to wisdom and reason, preventing the country from slipping into the unknown” was how Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati told Reuters on Saturday, referring to Friday’s cabinet meeting on an army plan to create a state monopoly on weapons.
Without establishing a timeline for implementation or pointing out that the army’s capabilities were limited, Lebanon’s cabinet on Friday praised an army plan to disarm Hezbollah and stated that the military will start carrying it out.

However, it claimed that the army’s advancement will be hampered by ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon. Lebanese information minister Paul Morcos did not explicitly state that the cabinet had officially accepted the plan in an interview with reporters following the meeting.

According to Qmati, Hezbollah had made its decision in light of the government’s announcement on Friday that Israel’s commitment was necessary for the U.S. roadmap on the issue to be implemented further. He stated that Lebanon’s execution of the plan should be “suspended until further notice” unless Israel stops its strikes and removes its forces from southern Lebanon.

Last month, Lebanon’s cabinet authorized a U.S. roadmap to disarm Hezbollah in exchange for an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon and charged the army with devising a strategy to create a governmental monopoly on weapons. Hezbollah “unequivocally rejected” the two rulings, according to Qmati, and demanded that the Lebanese government develop a national security strategy.

Israel said this week that if the army moved to disarm Hezbollah, it would reduce its military presence in southern Lebanon. It has been carrying out strikes in the meantime, and on Wednesday it killed four individuals.

Since last year’s disastrous war with Israel, which upset a power balance traditionally held by the Shi’ite Muslim organization backed by Iran, a national division over Hezbollah’s disarmament has taken center stage in Lebanon. The United States, Saudi Arabia, and Hezbollah’s domestic adversaries are putting pressure on Lebanon to disarm the organization. However, Hezbollah has resisted, claiming that even bringing up the subject of disarmament would be a grave mistake given that Israel is still attacking Lebanon with aircraft and controlling large areas of the south.

Last month, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem threatened civil war, saying that the government should not attempt to deal with the group and that protests might take place on the streets.