Details of army's weapons monopolization plan emerge

The plan devised by the Lebanese Army for monopolizing weapons in the country consists of four stages, media reports said on Saturday, after Cabinet said it “welcomes” the plan and asked the army to submit monthly reports on implementation.

According to the reports, the first stage will be implemented over three months and is dedicated to the continuation of arms removal in the area south of the Litani River near Israel’s border. The bearing and transfer of arms will also be prohibited across Lebanon during this stage, the reports said.

The second stage will afterwards be implemented in the area between the Litani River and the al-Awali River, the third in Beirut and its suburbs and the fourth in the Bekaa.

Cabinet on Friday welcomed the Lebanese Army's weapons monopolization plan and decided to keep its details confidential while asking the army to submit monthly reports on its implementation, Information Minister Paul Morcos said after a key session that witnessed a walkout by all five Shiite ministers.

Morcos added that the army “will start implementing the plan, but according to the available resources — there are limited material and human logistical resources” and that the military “has the right of operational discretion.”

He did not specify a new timeline for implementation.

Morcos also said that Israel had not held up its end of the agreement laid out in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November. Since then, Israeli forces have continued to occupy five strategic hills inside Lebanese territory and to carry out near-daily airstrikes.

“Israel, like Lebanon, has clear obligations” under the agreement, Morcos said. “However, its continued violations constitute evidence of its reneging on these obligations and seriously threaten regional security and stability," he added.