Army chief briefs govt on Hezbollah disarmament plan as Israel strikes south
Cabinet met Thursday in Beirut to follow up on a plan to disarm Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups in the country drafted by the Lebanese military.
Army chief Gen. Rudolph Haikal briefed the government for the second time on its plan to disarm Hezbollah, while Israel carried out airstrikes in south Lebanon.
The Cabinet had decided to keep the plan and all discussions about it "secret."
The Lebanese government first aimed to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year, but officials later said resources are too limited to meet the deadline. The current aim is to fully clear a stretch along the Lebanon-Israel border, defined as south of the Litani river, by the end of November before moving into further phases.
Hezbollah has rejected the plan, saying it won’t discuss disarmament as long as Israel continues to occupy several hills along the border and carries out almost daily strikes.
The session Thursday would also discuss the right of the expats to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections, amid tensions over the current electoral law which only allows expats to vote for six newly-introduced seats in parliament, with Sixty-five MPs -- forming a parliamentary majority -- demanding to amend the law in order to allow expats to vote for all 128 seats.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/316300 |