Lebanese President: Hezbollah arms matter for Lebanese agreement

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said today (Monday) that the matter of Hezbollah possessing weapons outside the control of the state should be an issue for "solutions agreed on by the Lebanese," according to Naharnet.

Aoun also expressed his opposition to the IDF remaining anywhere on Lebanese soil, saying that "I won’t accept that a single Israeli stay on Lebanese soil."

However, he also said that "the war option is not useful and we’ll work with diplomatic means." The Lebanese President added that the credibility of the United States and France as brokers of the ceasefire deal is at stake and that "they are working to secure the Israeli withdrawal.”

After requesting and receiving permission to extend the deadline for IDF withdrawal from Lebanon from the original date of January 26 to February 18, Israel then received approval from the United States to remain at five strategic locations overlooking the Lebanese side of the border.

The goal of these outposts is to ensure that Hezbollah not build up its forces and arsenal in the villages along the northern border, which would directly threaten Israeli towns on the other side with missile attacks and even terrorist raids.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said that he prefers that the Lebanese Army do the job of disarming Hezbollah, a statement agreed to by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He did, however, say that Israel will do whatever it needs to in order to enforce the ceasefire and ensure Israeli security.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem gave a speech yesterday saying that Israel must withdraw entirely from Lebanon by the deadline tomorrow. He said that if it does not do so, then Israel becomes an occupier of the country, with all that entails. However, he did not necessarily threaten a renewal of the war against Israel.