Lebanon mulls phased disarmament amid 'difficult' debate within Hezbollah
Lebanese officials are racing against time to reach 'acceptable formats' for a Lebanese paper responding to a U.S. proposal calling for an end to Israel's attacks and the withdrawal of its forces in return for Hezbollah's disarmament, a media report said.
'Hezbollah has partially opened the door to discussions over this topic, which had been a taboo in the past, without giving clear answers on whether or not it accepts the principle,' Lebanese sources informed on the ongoing deliberations told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
'Hezbollah is engaged in a difficult internal debate over the issue, in parallel with another debate within a panel comprising representatives of President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Nawaf Salam, which is tasked with devising the Lebanese response paper,' the sources added.
Revealing that the panel's discussions are seeking 'acceptable formats that comply with the constitution,' the sources added that 'the Lebanese response to the proposal is focused on specifying the priorities and phases according to which the agreement will be implemented, seeing as Israel has not committed to the ceasefire decision until the moment, despite Hezbollah's compliance and its withdrawal from the South Litani area.'
The sources added that in its 'preliminary response,' Hezbollah has demanded 'real guarantees' in order to implement ant solution that might be reached.
Official Lebanese sources meanwhile revealed to Asharq al-Awsat that 'Lebanon is readying a technical response prepared by the Lebanese Army to explain the step-by-step mechanism and what can be achieved if Israel carries out positive steps, such as withdrawal, ending airstrikes and releasing the captives.'
Political leaders are meanwhile seeking 'guarantees that would pave the way for a gradual disarmament that would begin with heavy-caliber weapons and end with medium-caliber weapons,' the sources said.
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