The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement on 8 January that Hezbollah’s disarmament is “far from being achieved,” in response to Lebanon’s announcement that it has completed the first phase of disarming the resistance group.
“The goal of disarming Hezbollah in southern Lebanon remains far from being achieved,” the statement said, attaching a video showing what it says are new Hezbollah military sites in the southern town of Beit Lif.
The ministry said Israel “acknowledges the decision of the Lebanese government to address the disarmament of Hezbollah and some of the efforts the Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF] have made in this context,” but stressed that these efforts have been “limited.”
“Hezbollah is rearming faster than it is being disarmed,” the Foreign Ministry went on to say, while alleging cooperation between Hezbollah and the Lebanese army, and calling it “regrettable.”
“Israel expects LAF efforts to disarm Hezbollah to continue south of the Litani and throughout all other parts of Lebanon, in full accordance with the ceasefire agreement,” it concluded.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed what the Foreign Ministry said, calling Lebanon’s efforts “far from sufficient.”
The statement came after the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) announced completing the disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani River.
“The army confirms that its plan to restrict weapons has entered an advanced stage, after the effective and tangible achievement of the objectives of the first phase on the ground. This phase focused on expanding the army’s operational presence, securing vital areas, and establishing operational control over territories that have come under its authority in the sector south of the Litani, with the exception of lands and sites that remain under Israeli occupation,” the LAF said.
The statement added that “work in the sector is ongoing until the completion of the clearance of unexploded ordnance and tunnels, in addition to Requests for Action (RFAs), in order to consolidate control and prevent armed groups from rebuilding their capabilities in an irreversible manner.”
The developments coincide with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to Lebanon. Araghchi has previously referred to the Hezbollah disarmament plan as a “doomed effort.”
A day earlier, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji claimed the Lebanese army was capable of confronting Hezbollah militarily if needed.
Rajji is closely affiliated with the US-backed Lebanese Forces (LF) party, and regularly blames Hezbollah for Israeli airstrikes and occupation in Lebanon.
“If a democratically elected government moves to disarm an illegal armed organization, it is restoring the principles of the constitution and the Taif Accord, not waging a ‘civil war.’ In any event, the LAF is capable of confronting Hezbollah militarily, if necessary,” Rajji told the pro-Israel US think tank, Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP).
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