According to Beirut Review: “In a field survey that reflects the pulse of the Lebanese situation and its orientations, the overwhelming majority of Lebanese believe that Israeli and US policies threaten the security and stability of the region.”
These are the results of the ninth round of the Arab Index 2025 survey, published by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, which revealed the stability of the anti-Israel stance of the majority of Lebanese and their rejection of normalization, despite acknowledging the losses suffered in the last war. “Lebanese unanimously agreed with 97% that Israeli policies threaten the security and stability of the region, followed by US policies with 88%.”
Despite the Lebanese people’s anti-Israel stance, a large segment of the population no longer wants armed militias on Lebanese soil.
In recent days, Industry Minister Joe Issa El-Khoury, of Maronite origin, stated: “The sovereignty of any state is not limited to its borders or its external relations, but is also linked to the consolidation of its internal authority. The continued existence of any armed group outside the framework of the state is unacceptable.”
He further stated: “Since the Lebanese Forces ministers entered the government, they have called for a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council to address the issue of the weapons of all illegal armed groups. The current issue in this dossier is that we cannot wait to see to what extent the Lebanese Army will be able to deploy in Hezbollah-controlled areas.”
If the “party” is truly committed to building a state, it must take the initiative to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese state. The stated position of Hezbollah officials shows a clear insistence on weapons, rejected by a large segment of the Lebanese population. The Lebanese people’s desire to avoid any military confrontation between the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah requires strong pressure to hand over their weapons.
The army needs about a month to evaluate the second phase, and Army Commander General Rodolphe Helou explained to us at the last cabinet meeting […] that the geographic nature of this region is different from that of southern Lebanon and the population is larger, requiring greater precision and a larger deployment. As for the number of soldiers available for this task, they constitute approximately 30% of the personnel deployed in southern Lebanon, which limits the possibility of proceeding at a faster pace.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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