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Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc member of parliament Hassan Izzeddine said the group will not hand over its weapons, despite mounting pressure from the United States and the Lebanese government.
Speaking at an event in the southern city of Tyre, Izzeddine accused Israel of violating the November 2024 ceasefire agreement with U.S. backing.
“Hezbollah has declared that it will not surrender its weapons,” he said, urging the Lebanese government to reconsider its disarmament plan.
Izzeddine described a recent U.S. delegation visit to Lebanon as an attempt to “secure Israel’s safety and remove any threat against it.”
He argued that Washington’s push for Hezbollah’s disarmament was designed to leave Lebanon defenseless against Israel.
He also claimed the disarmament effort was linked to the so-called “Greater Israel” project.
On Aug. 26, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack met with Lebanese President Joseph Avn and said Washington would work to secure Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon but stressed Hezbollah’s disarmament was essential.
“Israel will take steps in parallel with Hezbollah’s disarmament,” Barrack said at a press conference.
"Lebanon must disarm Hezbollah before asking Israel to withdraw. As long as Hezbollah is armed, Israel will not view Lebanon differently,” Sen. Lindsey Graham added.
Lebanon’s Cabinet met on Aug. 5 and instructed the army to prepare a plan to collect weapons by the end of the year.
The initiative followed a June 19 U.S. proposal calling for all weapons in Lebanon to be placed under state control.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qasim, however, rejected the idea, saying on the same day the Cabinet decision was announced that the group would not abandon its weapons “while Israel continues its aggression.”
Israel has partially withdrawn from southern Lebanon but continues to hold five strategic hilltops seized in recent clashes.
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