Lebanon: Protests erupt following disarmament of Hezbollah

Protests broke across in Lebanon after the government endorsed a plan that intends to disarm Hezbollah, as reported by The National on August 8th.

The demonstrations have left parts of the country on edge, with army troops being deployed to maintain order across the country.

Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters took to the streets in the southern suburbs of Beirut, chanting anti-government slogans in protest against the decision. Similar demonstrations took place in other parts of the country, such as Nabatieh in the South, Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley and Hermel in the north-east.

The Lebanese cabinet had endorsed the objectives of an American-led proposal that requires the Iran-backed group to disarm – a decision made despite the walkout of the government’s four Shiite ministers during the meeting.

Gen Mounir Shehadeh said: “The government threw the ball into the Lebanese army’s court. The problem is not the decision, but the method of application of the plan by the Lebanese army.”

Information Minister Paul Morcos said the cabinet gave the green light to only the objectives of the US plan, and did not talk about it it in full. The US plan states 11 “objectives” such as “ensuring the sustainability of the ceasefire” with Israel, and the “gradual end of the armed presence of Hezbollah in Lebanese territory.”

The plan also recommends the deployment of Lebanese soldiers in border areas and the pull-out of Israeli troops from the five locations in south Lebanon currently occupied. The Lebanese government has stated that Israel’s continued military presence within Lebanon breaches the truce.

The attacks have fuelled public outrage, strained fragile state institutions, and heightened fears that political unrest could spiral into a wider conflict involving both domestic factions and regional actors. With Israel-Lebanon relations continuing to lay on a knife-edge, continued domestic tension may exacerbate conflict across the Middle East.