Geagea urges Hezbollah to cede arms instead of criticizing state

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Sunday called on Hezbollah to hand over its arms to the Lebanese state instead of criticizing it over Israel's attacks and the stalled reconstruction efforts.

"The state won't manage to benefit from its Arab and Western friendships before becoming an actual state that is capable of monopolizing decisions," Geagea said in a statement.

"No one is willing to help a state that does not monopolize the decisions of war and peace or arms and that is not in charge of security and foreign policy," Geagea added.

"Instead of shedding crocodile tears, some must immediately hand over their weapons to the state to enable it to perform its duty in halting these attacks and removing Israel permanently from south Lebanon," Geagea went on to say.