Bassil walks fine line on Hezbollah disarmament amid ongoing Israeli attacks
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil warned against using force to disarm Hezbollah, saying that it is not acceptable to threaten Hezbollah while Israel has not stopped its aggressions and is still occupying five hills in south Lebanon.
Bassil said in an interview Tuesday with Saudi state-owned news channel al-Arabiya that using force against Hezbollah would lead to domestic conflicts after the government tasked the Lebanese army to submit a plan by the end of August to disarm the group.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea warned Hezbollah Tuesday, saying that if the group would not respect the government's decision, the state might be forced to "enforce the law".
The state should use force in that case "with the least possible cost to spare Lebanon any internal conflicts," Geagea said, adding that he still prefers to resolve the thorny issue "in a peaceful manner if possible."
Bassil said Lebanon must push for both Israel's halt of attacks and Hezbollah's disarmament. "We cannot focus on the arms alone, it is not the only problem and was in the first place the result of Israeli occupation and aggression," he said.
Despite a ceasefire reached in late November, Israel has kept its attacks almost daily especially on south Lebanon. It also is still occupying five hills in south Lebanon that it deems "strategic".
Hezbollah says it would not hand over its weapons while Israeli strikes continue.
Bassil proposed Hezbollah's weapons be handed over to the army and not destroyed so the army can protect Lebanon as it is still under attack.
"Hezbollah has deviated from the Lebanese context of its arms," Bassil said, referring to the latest war in support of Gaza, yet he called for solidarity and unity in the face of external threats from Israel and Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had recently expressed support for the idea of an expanded "Greater Israel", encompassing not only the present-day Palestinian territories of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, but also parts of modern Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Bassil urged the Lebanese to unite against the calls for a "Greater Syria" and a "Greater Israel", calling for national dialogue to protect the war-hit country.
