When strength becomes a liability: Hezbollah considers turning over some of its weapons

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a day ago

The group won't surrender its entire arsenal, but would consider turning over some weapons on condition Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon and halts its attacks, sources told Reuters.
Hezbollah has begun a major strategic review in the wake of its war with Israel, including considering scaling back its role as an armed movement without disarming completely, three sources familiar with the deliberations say.
The official and two other sources familiar with the discussions indicated Hezbollah has concluded that the arsenal it had amassed to deter Israel from attacking Lebanon had become a liability.
The internal discussions, which aren't yet finalized and haven't previously been reported, reflect the formidable pressuresthe Iran-backed Lebanese terror group has faced since a truce was reached with Israel in late November.
Another senior official, who is familiar with Hezbollah's internal deliberations, said the group had been holding clandestine discussions on its next steps.
Small committees have been meeting in person or remotely to discuss issues including their leadership structure, political role, social and development work, and weapons, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Hezbollah "had an excess of power," the official said. "All that strength turned into a weak point."
Hezbollah has since relinquished a number of weapons depots in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese armed forces as stipulated in last year's truce, though Israel saysit has struck military infrastructure there still linked to the group.
Hezbollah is now considering turning over some weapons it has elsewhere in the country, notably missiles and drones seen as the biggest threat to Israel, on condition Israel withdraws from the south and halts its attacks, the sources said.
But the group won't surrender its entire arsenal, the sources said. For example, it intends to keep lighter arms and anti-tank missiles, they said, describing them as a means to resist any future attacks.
Hezbollah's media office did not respond to questions for this article.
Israel's military said it would continue operating along its northern border in accordance with the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, in order to eliminate any threat and protect Israeli citizens.
The US State Department declined to comment on private diplomatic conversations, referring questions to Lebanon's government. Lebanon's presidency did not respond to questions.
This comes after a Friday Al Akhbar report that a Lebanese source closely connected to the US administration has been engaged in discussions with Hezbollah regarding the terror group's arms.
According to the report, the discussion involved what could potentially be offered in exchange for Hezbollah handing over its weapons.
The source from the Al Akhbar report explained that the goal of such communications is to convince Hezbollah that "their weapons have become a burden and to encourage the group to hand them over to the state, rather than by having to try and take them using threats, force, or populist rhetoric.'
Hezbollah expects that it will receive in return military and security guarantees as reassurances from international and Arab parties, the source added.
The guarantees being discussed, the source clarified, are "international, American, Arab, and internal." They would also involve Israel's withdrawal from areas in southern Lebanon.
The source added that there is a sentiment within the US administration that 'Lebanon is procrastinating and moving at a snail's pace' regarding Hezbollah's weapons.