The Secretary-General of Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance group, Sheikh Naim Qassem strongly slammed the Lebanese government’s August 5 decision during a ceremony in Baalbek marking the Arbaeen of Imam Hussein, saying it strips Lebanon of its defensive capabilities amid ongoing aggression and facilitates the killing of resistance fighters and their fellow citizens, reports Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced on August 5 that the Cabinet has formally assigned the Lebanese Army to draft a comprehensive plan aimed at consolidating arms under state control by the end of 2025. The army is expected to submit the plan for Cabinet review no later than August 31.
The decision followed a tense and extended Cabinet meeting held at the presidential palace in Baabda, chaired by President Joseph Aoun. More than three hours of the session were devoted to the highly sensitive agenda item concerning the consolidation of arms under the state’s authority, a topic that continues to fuel deep political divides within the Lebanese government.
Sheikh Qassem described the decision as “dangerous” and a violation of Lebanon’s social cohesion, warning that it “exposes the country to a very serious crisis.”
He accused the government of carrying out “the American-Israeli scheme to dismantle the resistance, even at the cost of plunging Lebanon into civil war and fuelling internal strife.”
“This government is serving the Israeli project, knowingly or not,” he declared, addressing officials directly, “If you feel helpless, let us face the enemy ourselves. We don’t need you to engage; leave confronting it to us.”
Furthermore, Sheikh Qassem stressed that the government’s duty “is not to surrender the country to the enemy or to unchecked American domination,” questioning officials, “How can you, as a government, facilitate the killing of your own citizens? How can Lebanon survive if some of its partners turn against others?”
Elsewhere in his remarks, Sheikh Qassem also referenced Israeli expansionist ambitions: “Have you heard of Netanyahu’s plan to establish a ‘Greater Israel’? What can you say about this? What are you doing about it?”
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “Greater Israel” vision, reiterated recently, claims territorial reach into Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, constituting an attack on the sovereignty of Arab states and a clear violation of international law.
Sheikh Qassem reaffirmed that “the Resistance drew its legitimacy from the blood of the martyrs, not from your [Lebanese government’s] approval,” urging, “Do not drag the Lebanese army into internal strife or stain its honourable record” and maintaining that “its leadership does not wish to go down this path.”
In this context, he held the Lebanese government fully responsible for any internal discord and for failing in its duty to defend Lebanon’s land.
