Lebanon’s new unity government has adopted a policy that recognizes the Shiite paramilitary group Hezbollah’s right to use arms against Israel, in spite of UN resolutions calling for its complete disarming. The text adopted by the Cabinet reaffirms right of “Lebanon, its government, its people, its army and its resistance” to liberate all Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah, whose political wing is part of the government of Prime Minister Saed Hariri, is commonly referred to as “resistance” in Lebanon. Christian members of the majority, including the Phalange Party and Lebanese Forces, argued that group’s weapons arsenal ran counter to UN resolutions, but Hezbollah said its right to use weapons against Israel was not up for debate.
The group, considered a terrorist organization by the United States and other countries, maintains that Israel posed a serious threat and it was hence necessary to protect Lebanon against future “acts of aggression”, although it was Hezbollah which began the war in 2006 by firing rockets on Israeli cities. Israeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000.
