Qmati says 'people' will prevent state from disarming Hezbollah

The deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, Mahmoud Qmati, said Monday that “the Lebanese government will not be able to remove Hezbollah’s arms.”

“The resistance is not isolated or besieged, but is rather part of a broad national front,” added Qmati after a visit to the headquarters of the Lebanese Communist Party and a meeting with its chief Hanna Gharib.

“The government has sold the country and gave foreign forces a blank check, but it will not manage to achieve what it wants,” Qmati said.

“The entire Lebanese people will confront the government if it tries to enforce its decision,” Qmati suggested, noting that “the resistance was born from the womb of occupation, when the state could not protect the citizens and deter the aggression.”

He accordingly called on the government, “despite its fall,” to “rectify the course and shun decisions that harm Lebanon.”

Qmati's remarks come after the Lebanese government decided last week to disarm Hezbollah and tasked the army with drawing up a plan to complete the process by year end.

Hezbollah has said it will ignore the cabinet's decision, which came under heavy U.S. pressure, while the group's backer Iran said Saturday it opposed the effort.

Under the November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, arms are to be restricted to Lebanese state institutions.

The government has tasked the army with presenting a plan by the end of August for disarming non-state actors.

On Thursday, the government also discussed a U.S. proposal that includes a timetable for Hezbollah's disarmament.

The government endorsed the introduction of the U.S. text without discussing specific timelines, and called for the deployment of Lebanese troops in border areas.

It also called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from five areas of the south they continue to occupy.

Israeli has kept up its strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite the truce and has vowed to continue them until the militant group has been disarmed.