Hezbollah and Amal walk back after calling for protest over disarmament
Hezbollah and Amal called off Monday a rally they had called for in protest at the government's decision to disarm Hezbollah by the year end.
The workers' departments of Hezbollah and Amal had called for a rally Wednesday in Riad al-Solh.
Media reports said the rally was called off after Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri pressured Hezbollah to cancel it, while the Duo Amal and Hezbollah said in a statement that their decision to cancel the protest came after pleas by "national leaders".
They said they called it off for unity and civil peace and to open the way for "constructive dialogue" and "block any attempt to destabilize the country."
Hezbollah has been under domestic and international pressure to give up its arsenal, which it has so far refused to do. The group's leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is set to deliver a speech Monday at 4 PM.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could start withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese cabinet’s “momentous decision” to disarm Hezbollah.
Israel has carried out almost daily strikes on Lebanon, despite a ceasefire reached in late November, and its troops are still occupying five hills in south Lebanon they deem "strategic".
