MAARAB:
Lebanon’s leading Christian politician, Samir Geagea, on Tuesday urged Hezbollah to surrender its weapons to the state “as soon as possible”, warning the Iran-backed group it has run out of options.
“Hezbollah has no choice but to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese state… because the state took this decision,” Geagea told AFP in an interview from his residence in Maarab, north of Beirut.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has come under mounting pressure to give up its arms since it was severely weakened by Israel last year, after intervening on the side of its Palestinian ally Hamas in the Gaza war.
Under intense US pressure and fearing expanded Israeli military action, the Lebanese government is seeking to disarm the group, and the army has begun implementing a plan to do so beginning in the country’s south.
“Hezbollah must certainly learn from what is currently happening with Hamas. This is an additional reason for it to hand over its weapons to the state as soon as possible,” Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces party, said.
