The Lebanese government wrote to the United Nations Security Council on March 2 that Hezbollah’s decision to enter the war between the United States and Israel and Iran “runs counter to the principle that the decision of war and peace rests exclusively with the Lebanese state.”
The government added in the letter, which JNS viewed, that there is to be an “immediate prohibition of all Hezbollah security and military activities” due to the terror organization’s actions, which have drawn Israeli strikes in response.
The letter noted the Lebanese government’s “refusal to be drawn into the ongoing regional war.”
Beirut has been increasingly critical of Hezbollah in recent months, but an outright ban on the terror group marks a new level of tension between the government and the Iran-backed terror organization that has long controlled south Lebanon.
In the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, which Hezbollah also joined, the international community placed renewed focus on U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the disarmament of all non-state actors in Lebanon and restoration of sovereignty in all parts of the country.
Hezbollah has refused to disarm, and the Lebanese government, reportedly with pushback from military leadership, has not been able to compel it to yield its weapons.
The letter states that Hezbollah may continue its activity in “the political sphere within constitutional and legal frameworks.”
Some have tried to separate Hezbollah’s military activities from its role as a political party, but the United States and others make no such distinction. Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, is an ally of Hezbollah, and the group carries significant influence in legislative matters.
The letter states that the government requests that army command “immediately and decisively” implement a plan for “the confinement of weapons” north of the strategic Litani River.
Hezbollah continues to launch attacks from south of the Litani.
It also calls for the brokers and monitors of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, which was reached in late 2024, to “secure a clear and final commitment from the Israeli side to cease all attacks across all Lebanese territory.”
With increasing Hezbollah attacks, the Israel Defense Forces have moved to create an expanded buffer zone, spanning from the Israeli border to north of the Litani River.
