Lebanon’s cabinet heads into tense session over army weapons plan

Report by Bassam Abou Zeid, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Ahead of Friday’s cabinet session, officials are exploring ways to ensure the meeting proceeds smoothly as ministers prepare to discuss the army’s plan for enforcing the state’s monopoly on weapons. 

Current discussions appear to focus on a proposal that would not require the army to commit to a specific timeline for completing the weapons control mission. It remains unclear whether this approach will satisfy all government factions.

According to available information, the proposal comes from Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. 

Sources familiar with the positions of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement said Berri was clear in his recent speech that linking the start of the state’s monopoly on weapons to a national security strategy would preserve, in Hezbollah’s view, a significant role for its armed wing.

The parliament speaker’s remarks, along with other issues surrounding the upcoming cabinet session, have been central to discussions between President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

So far, all available information indicates that ministers from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement will attend the session, along with Minister Fadi Makki.

Political sources following the talks said the session could unfold in several ways. 

The government may simply take note of the army’s plan, in which case the ministers from the two parties would remain in the session. Alternatively, the government could approve and adopt the plan while recalling the timeline set in the August 5 session, which could prompt the two parties’ ministers to object and withdraw.

Information suggests it will be very difficult to approve the army’s plan without a timeline. Government decisions on the matter are considered final, although an extension until the end of the year may be possible in a way that does not undermine or dilute the principle of state monopoly over arms.

Sources also stressed that while some aim to accommodate Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, the positions of other government members—from the president and prime minister to the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party, and the Progressive Socialist Party—must also be taken into account, as their views differ from Hezbollah’s, albeit to varying degrees.