News - Middle East: Lebanon's Grand Shia Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan has stressed that the weapons of the country's resistance movements are vital for safeguarding Lebanese sovereignty amid Israel’s aggression's and expansionist ambitions.

Marking the first anniversary of the US-backed Israeli aggression on Lebanon, Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan said on Tuesday that the war proved the weapons of the resistance movements are “the greatest need” for safeguarding Lebanese sovereignty.

He also stated that the Lebanese authority should have called for a national celebration of the anniversary of “the greatest war for sovereignty.”

His remarks come as the Lebanese government is adopting an American proposal, which dictates the disarmament of the popular resistance movement Hezbollah.

“The weapons of the resistance and its capabilities are the greatest necessities for Lebanon and the most important effective shield,” Qabalan stated.

This requires “all concerned parties to begin formulating a national security and sovereign defense policy that benefits from all internal capabilities and works to employ them as needed to protect Lebanon and its existence in a region that is burning madly,” he added.

Sheikh Qabalan also decried the remarks made by the US envoy, Tom Barrack, in which he said “arming the Lebanese army is prohibited and strengthening any force against Israel is forbidden”, stating that “the US sees only through the eyes of Israel.”  

He stressed that the Lebanese government should have taken an appropriate reaction to Barrack’s “crude” statements.

Sheikh Qabalan called for strengthening Lebanon instead of seeking to weaken it and urged the Lebanese people to unite.

The religious leader also stressed the importance of unity among Arab and Muslim nations.

“Nothing is more important for this region than an Iranian-Saudi-Egyptian-Turkish-Pakistani partnership."

On August 5, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam "tasked the Lebanese army with setting an implementation plan to restrict weapons" to the army and other state forces "before the end of this year."

The decision aims at disarming the Hezbollah resistance movement that has for decades defended the country from external aggression, especially from the Israeli enemy.

Hezbollah has condemned the government’s decision as a “grave sin,” that "leaves Lebanon unprotected in the face of the aggressive intentions of arrogant powers.”

As demands from Washington and Israel to disarm the Lebanese resistance group intensify, numerous individuals within the Arab nation contend that such attempts overlook the fundamental problem of Israel's ongoing infringements on Lebanese sovereignty.

Source: Press TV