Lebanon’s cabinet defies Hezbollah, endorses US-backed plan to restore state control over arms

BEIRUT — In a move described by Washington as “historic, bold, and correct,” Lebanon’s Cabinet has approved the core goals of a U.S.-brokered proposal to restore the state’s monopoly over weapons — a decision that for the first time in decades places Hezbollah’s disarmament on the official political agenda. 

The plan, presented by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack and endorsed by Syriac Maronite President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, calls for the full implementation of the Taif Agreement, the Lebanese Constitution, and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. It sets a timeline for the Lebanese Armed Forces to present, by the end of August, a practical roadmap to extend state authority over all territory and ensure that “possession of weapons is solely in the hands of the state.” 

“This finally puts into motion the ‘One Nation, One Army’ solution for Lebanon,” Barrack said, reaffirming international backing from the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and others. The initiative also outlines a gradual end to the armed presence of all non-state actors — Hezbollah included — north and south of the Litani River, the redeployment of the army to border areas, the resolution of outstanding territorial disputes with Israel and Syria, and an economic support conference for Lebanon. 

The vote, however, came only after a stormy Cabinet session at Baabda Palace on Thursday, which followed the government’s earlier decision to hand the army responsibility for drafting the disarmament plan. Ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal Movement, sought to delay discussion until the army’s proposals were ready, but were overruled by the prime minister, the president, and a coalition of ministers from the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb Party, the Progressive Socialist Party, and presidential appointees. 

According to Nida’a al-Watan’s detailed account, Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar, Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine, and Environment Minister Tamara Zain threatened to walk out if the government proceeded. After failed mediation attempts, the three ministers — joined later by Industry Minister Fadi Makki, a Shiite appointee who said he “could not carry the weight of the Shiite decision in the Cabinet alone” — left the session. 

The walkout did not halt proceedings. “The era of the old ways is over,” one participant quoted President Aoun as saying, signaling that the government would not be paralyzed by boycotts. With 23 ministers remaining, the Cabinet voted unanimously to adopt the proposal’s objectives, marking the first time since 1990 that an official government decision has explicitly endorsed the goal of a single armed force under state control. 

The decision reopens a question that has haunted Lebanese politics since the end of the civil war: why was Hezbollah never disarmed in the first place? 

The 1989 Taif Agreement and subsequent ministerial committees mandated the dissolution of all militias. By mid-1991, most complied — the Lebanese Forces handed part of their arsenal to the army and sold heavy weapons abroad; the Amal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party turned over arms to the army or Syrian forces. Hezbollah, however, kept its weapons, citing the need to resist Israeli occupation in the south. 

What was once tolerated under the label of “resistance” has, in the eyes of many Lebanese, become an obstacle to stability. Prime Minister Salam’s government is now moving to implement what Taif envisioned 35 years ago. 

The decision has been warmly welcomed by the Syriac Maronite Patriarchate, which has championed the principle of “positive neutrality” since Syriac Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi first proposed it in 2020. As Alan Sarkis wrote in Nida’a al-Watan, Syriac Maronite church leaders see the Cabinet’s move as a long-overdue step toward reasserting sovereignty, curbing foreign entanglements, and enabling the return of displaced Syrians by stabilizing the region. 

Also Read: Syriac Maronite Patriarchate eyes September call for ‘positive neutrality’ as Lebanon moves on Hezbollah weapons 

For the Patriarchate, neutrality is inseparable from disarmament: only when the state is the sole holder of arms can Lebanon credibly avoid being drawn into others’ wars. 

The U.S.-brokered framework links security reforms to economic recovery, proposing an international conference to support reconstruction and financial stabilization once Lebanon demonstrates progress on sovereignty. The plan also calls for bolstering the Lebanese Armed Forces with “appropriate military means” to enforce its mandates. 

Still, the political fight is far from over. Hezbollah has dismissed the Cabinet’s decision as “non-existent,” and Amal has called for its reversal. Whether the government can sustain its course in the face of entrenched opposition — and whether the army can translate objectives into enforceable reality — will determine if Thursday’s vote becomes a turning point or another unfulfilled promise in Lebanon’s long struggle for statehood.