Hezbollah, Amal call for rally Wednesday to protest disarmament decision

The workers' departments of Hezbollah and Amal have called for a rally Wednesday in Riad al-Solh in protest at the government's decision to disarm Hezbollah by the year end.

Hezbollah has been under domestic and international pressure to give up its arsenal, which it has so far refused to do. The group's leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is set to deliver a speech Monday at 4 PM.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could start withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese cabinet’s “momentous decision” to disarm Hezbollah.

Israel has carried out almost daily strikes on Lebanon, despite a ceasefire reached in late November, and its troops are still occupying five hills in south Lebanon they deem "strategic".