The Lebanese government carried out its first significant disarmament initiative, with Palestinian militants surrendering their weapons in multiple refugee camps.
Hezbollah, which has dominated Lebanese politics since the conclusion of the Lebanese Civil War in the 1990s due to its possession of the most extensive nonstate arsenal in the Middle East, was severely battered after a series of targeted Israeli strikes last year, culminating in an invasion of southern Lebanon. With most of its leadership dead and its fighters in disarray, the Trump administration is eyeing an unprecedented opportunity to disarm the Iranian-backed group and empower Beirut.
Over the past week, the Lebanese army sought to test its ability to disarm militant factions by starting with Palestinian militants in refugee camps in the capital.
Its first test was a success, with the Beirut publication Al Akhbar reporting that Palestinian militants in Beirut’s Burj al Shamali and al Bass refugee camps turned over their weapons to the Lebanese army.
Last week, Palestinian militants surrendered their armaments in the Burj al Barajneh camp.
The weapons handover was part of a deal negotiated in May between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the camps are considered “low-hanging fruit and a test case” in the disarmament plan. With its success, Aoun may feel emboldened to move forward with a plan to disarm Hezbollah.
The United States has been pressuring Aoun to pursue the complete disarmament of Hezbollah while it’s in disarray. However, despite its losses incurred in last year’s war, the militant group still boasts tens of thousands of fighters and even more missiles.
Nevertheless, earlier this month, the Lebanese government tasked Lebanon’s armed forces with coming up with a plan to disarm the militant group by the end of August. The order came under pressure from the U.S., which warned that all international reconstruction efforts would be withheld until Hezbollah was disarmed.
On Monday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said the group would under no circumstances accept disarmament, which he said would leave the country vulnerable to Israeli invasion. He warned any forces that would try to disarm the powerful militant group.
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“Those who want to disarm us are like those who seek to take our soul from us, and then they will witness our might,” he told Lebanese news channel Al Mayadeen.
Onlookers fear that an effort by the government to forcibly disarm Hezbollah could spark another descent into civil war, the last of which lasted nearly 20 years and dealt a blow that the country has not recovered from.