President Aoun said on Monday that the decision over the monopoly of arms by the state has been made and that messages were exchanged with Hezbollah to address the issue , and will be implemented through dialogue.
Aoun confirmed, in an interview with Al Jazeera, that “the army is doing its duty and is ready to bear the responsibility of controlling the borders, and pressure must be put on Israel to comply.”
“The dialogue on arms exclusivity will be bilateral between the Presidency of the Republic and Hezbollah, ” he added stressing that the decision will be made by the state .
The President pointed out that “the army’s achievements are significant, and tunnels and ammunition depots have been found south and north of the Litani River,” adding, “The army is doing its duty south of the Litani River, dismantling tunnels and confiscating weapons without objection from Hezbollah.”
He stressed that “there are no specific numbers, but there is no control in the sense of control, but it has been cleared of weapons and ammunition, and everything published about numbers is not accurate.” He added, “I was contacted when I was in France about the issue of the missile launch, and the incident is now being followed up and fingerprints have been taken, but it can be said that Hezbollah is not behind the incident, and uncovering the issue requires time.” He praised “the position of the Shiite Islamic Council when it condemned this incident, and this is an important and appreciated step that has its implications.”
He pointed out that “the number of army brigades is increasing and its capabilities are also increasing, but it has not been deployed to all points in the south due to the Israeli army’s deployment in 5 points,” adding, “North of the Litani River, the army is carrying out all its duties, as well as within the existing Palestinian camps.”
He added: “Hezbollah is aware of Lebanon’s interests, and international and regional circumstances support this, and I am counting on its awareness of Lebanon’s interests.”
He reiterated: “There are exchanged messages with Hezbollah to address the issue of the state’s monopoly on weapons.” He continued, “The army’s mission is greatly facilitated south of the Litani River, and this is a good indicator.”
Regarding the issue of reconstruction, he said, “We must implement economic reforms, and all the focus is now on this issue.” He considered that “the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons does not necessarily have to be linked to the negotiations between Iran and the United States, but there is no doubt that the results of the negotiations could impact events in the region and in Lebanon.”
President Aoun added, “We support the principle of forming a civil-military committee to demarcate the land border, with the exception of the Shebaa Farms issue.”
Lebanon stands at a crossroads. After years of suffering under Hezbollah’s grip, the country finally has a chance to move toward stability and sovereignty, according to analysts and this moment demands courage and clarity by President Aoun , not caution and compromise.
Hezbollah has never given a damn about the security or sovereignty of Lebanon. Its track record of violating national consensus and dragging the country into foreign wars speaks for itself.
Hezbollah’s slain leader Hassan Nasrallah pledged allegiance to Iran and its Supreme leader Ali Khamanei in 2019, while his ally former president Michel Aoun was sitting in the Baabda palace.
El Nashra/ YL