Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam Urge Hezbollah to Hand Over Weapons Under State Authority

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have renewed a push for Lebanon to monopolize weapons under state authority, framing the issue as a decisive rift with Hezbollah’s refusal to renounce military autonomy.

“In the context of the ongoing Israeli escalation against Lebanon and the stalemate in the ceasefire process, both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam today called for enshrining the exclusive possession of weapons in the hands of the state”

Euronews

Aoun said Lebanon is at a decisive moment: either the state monopolizes weapons or it remains hostage to the logic of militias, while Salam urged Hezbollah to hand over its weapons and support Washington's negotiations.

Euronews

The dispute is rooted in the executive’s line that decisions of war and peace should belong exclusively to constitutional institutions and that the state must exercise authority over the entire Lebanese territory.

In parallel, Hezbollah’s secretary-general Naim Kassem has repeatedly rejected disarmament, saying Hezbollah’s weapons are a permanent component of Lebanon's defense strategy and that pressure for disarmament serves Israeli interests.

Aoun’s position was echoed by Salam’s insistence that the government maintains constant contact with Hezbollah while requiring it to implement commitments under the Taef Agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Salam told Reuters that Hezbollah should be faster than Lebanon, or at least keep pace, and should declare its support for the negotiations in Washington, while also arguing that Lebanon’s problem with Hezbollah is its weapons.

In the same Reuters-linked account, Salam rejected treating Hezbollah’s disarmament as an Israeli precondition and said, "Lets get rid of this confusion, this nonsense."

Ici Beyrouth

Hezbollah, for its part, rejected the ceasefire plan agreed by the Lebanese and Israeli governments in Washington talks, and Naim Qassem called the negotiations shameful and rejected Washington's declaration.

Aoun and Salam also delivered a direct message to Hezbollah in a separate framing, with Aoun urging a Lebanon that monopolizes weapons and protects citizens regardless of affiliation and with Salam stressing that no one negotiates on behalf of Lebanon.

Euronews reported that Aoun and Salam called for enshrining exclusive possession of weapons in the hands of the state as Israeli escalation continued and the ceasefire process remained stalled.

The stakes of the weapons dispute are tied in the sources to the continuing Israeli escalation, with the Lebanese Ministry of Health saying Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed about 3,700 people and injured more than 11,000.

“Salam: We will not yield to blackmail or threats of civil war Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he was "not seeking a confrontation" with Hezbollah, while insisting that the government would not abandon its goal of restricting the possession of arms to the state”

L'Orient Today

The same reporting says authorities estimate about 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon, while the negotiations between Israel and Lebanon under American sponsorship are due to resume on June 22.

Salam said Lebanon is calling for a permanent ceasefire as the basis for negotiations that would lead to a full Israeli withdrawal and the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians under the supervision of the Lebanese army.

In parallel, Salam insisted that the government would not abandon its goal of restricting weapons to the state, saying, "we will not retreat from the objective of limiting weapons to the state," while also warning that Lebanon would not yield to blackmail or threats of civil war.

He added that the process is gradual and reciprocal, providing for Israel to withdraw first from two pilot zones before the Lebanese Army deploys there and establishes state authority.