Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Sunday that the weapons that protect the land are the legitimate weapons of the state alone, and that security is a shared national responsibility that cannot be reduced to one faction over another.
اضافة اعلان
Aoun reaffirmed his commitment to restricting legitimate arms to the Lebanese state, and to extending the authority of the Lebanese Army over all Lebanese territory, in implementation of Resolution 1701 and to guarantee Lebanon's full sovereignty.
He added that the people of southern Lebanon continue to suffer from ongoing Israeli attacks and violations of the cessation of hostilities.
Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement on June 26, following five rounds of U.S.-mediated negotiations. The agreement specifically calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah and Israel's gradual withdrawal from the territories it occupies in southern Lebanon, along with the deployment of the Lebanese Army starting with "pilot areas."
The framework agreement stipulates a mutual, gradual process under which the Lebanese Army would regain effective sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory, in tandem with the disarmament of non-state armed groups and the dismantling of their infrastructure — enabling the Israeli occupation army to redeploy outside Lebanese territory, according to security arrangements and verification mechanisms organized under a security annex with American support.
Hezbollah categorically refuses direct negotiations with Israel and giving up its weapons.
Israel continues to maintain forces in southern Lebanon in what it calls a "security zone" extending up to ten kilometers along its border, and continues to carry out strikes and large-scale demolition operations.
Washington has announced it will host a new round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in Rome in early September, saying it is "satisfied with how things are developing."
The most recent war broke out after Hezbollah fired rockets toward Israel in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the outset of the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.
