Lebanon’s social affairs minister backed calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah but cautioned that the process would take time before a “political settlement” could be reached, calling the group a “community” and not merely a militant organisation.
Haneen Sayed told a discussion on Monday that disarming Hezbollah – an Iran-backed militant group – was a demand of her government and its people, and that it “must happen”.
“Of course, we understand that implementation is not easy. It’s not instant coffee. It takes time, and it, of course, is going to require a political settlement [or] an agreement and negotiation for that to happen,” she told the discussion hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
“It’s not an overnight thing, but at least what we want to get to is that there be an agreement, and then the implementation is the second stage.”
Sayed’s comments came as Lebanon and Israel last week extended their ceasefire by three weeks, even as both sides reported violations of the truce. Her remarks also signalled an awareness that the Lebanese government has to deal with Hezbollah to achieve long-term peace in the country.
US President Donald Trump earlier said that the truce – a result of rare direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials – would include Hezbollah, with Israel’s envoy to the US, Yechiel Leiter, saying the two countries stood united in liberating Lebanon from Hezbollah.
