PBS News Hour - Full Show - How Lebanon is planning to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year

Episode Date: September 2, 2025

The Lebanese government approved a U.S. plan to disarm Hezbollah, the group whose military wing was recognized by previous governments as a parallel security structure to Lebanon’s armed forces. The agreement calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament by the end of the year, in return for Israel’s withdrawal and cessation of hostilities. Special correspondent Simona Foltyn reports from Beirut. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

The Lebanese government is close to approving an American plan to disarm the U.S. designated terrorist group Hezbollah. The decision marks an historic first to dismantle the Iran-backed group. The agreement proposes an aggressive timeline to complete Hezbollah's disarmament by the end of the year in return for Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon's south, plus an end to hostilities. Special correspondent, Simona Fultean, has more from Beirut. A new order is taking shape in the United. the ruins of Lebanon's latest war. Last year, Israel killed almost the entire leadership

of Hezbollah and thousands of its fighters. Now, there is a plan to take what remains of its weapons. Not far from where Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah for 30 years, was killed with U.S.-made bunker-busting bombs last fall. I sat down with one of the group's parliament members. This was an American paper that was discussed within the Lebanese government. The paper is a complete submission from the Lebanese to the American government. The so-called American paper was presented by President Trump's special envoy, Tom Barrack. The backlash was further fueled last week when he called the Lebanese press corps animalistic during a chaotic news conference. And I want to tell you something. The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we're gone.

So you want to know what's happening. acting, act civilized, act kind, act tolerant, because this is the problem with what's happening in the region. Barrack later apologized for those comments. The plan he is pushing once the Lebanese government to first disarm Hezbollah, and only then would Israel consider withdrawing from the areas it still occupies in Lebanon south. They will meet tick for tat in exact cadence. What we will do in an effort to make sure that Hezbollah is not armed as an adversary against them. If you reject this agreement, what is the alternative that you are proposing?

The alternative is for Israel and America to comply with the ceasefire agreement that was signed on November 27, 2024. Why is the United States not insisting on Israel's obligations under that agreement? Why is the United States imposing things on Lebanon, but not imposing anything on Israel? That November ceasefire was also guaranteed by the United States as well as France. But according to the UN peacekeeping mission, called UNIFIL, Israel has committed around 8,000 violations since it went into effect, including drone surveillance, airstrikes and ground operations. I'm headed towards the border with UN peacekeepers who are monitoring the situation on the ground.

So on the other side of that wall, that's Israel. Yeah, on the other side we have Israel. And what's the closest idea of checkpoint? On the right, you can see the tower, the red and white tower, is one of the advanced checkpoint of the IDF. Have you seen any Hezbollah activity in recent months? Personally, no, we don't have any kind of this activity. Some violation there is from IDF side, more or less, not from Lebanese side. The IDF carries out near daily bombardments, like these airstrikes,

on video on Sunday. Israel has also built at least five new outposts on Lebanese soil. My understanding right now is that you cannot drive on some parts of the road that is on the Lebanese side. What is the reason for that? Because at the moment there is an IDF position, close this position. But we are working to regain freedom of movement and to remove any kind of roadblock that are in this position. Meanwhile, Lebanon has largely complied with the ceasefire with only 21 projectiles fired from Lebanese territory since November. Hezbollah has surrendered more than 500 weapons stores and military installations in southern Lebanon, taking steps

for the first time to fulfill its obligations under a UN resolution that ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. The new agreement has moved the goalposts, required Hezbollah to also give up weapons elsewhere in the country. For decades, Hezbollah's military capabilities have far exceeded those of the Lebanese armed forces, earning it a reputation of a state within a state. While Hezbollah's Shia constituency, Washington's plan as an affront to Lebanon's sovereignty,

Hezbollah's detractors seeed as an historic opportunity to weaken the group's influence over the state. Within the Lebanese government, the effort is championed by U.S.-backed President Joseph Aoun, a Christian and former Lebanese army commander. We urge without hesitation to affirm that weapons are exclusively in the hands of the Army and security forces, in order to restore the world's confidence in us, and in the ability of the state to maintain its security in the face of Israeli aggressions. But the power of the government on the health of its' peace.

With the push for Hezbollah's disarmament by the end of year, risks leaving Lebanon with few means to defend itself. Dr. Mohamed Haidar is one of four Shia cabinet members who oppose the plan. We know that when the Lebanese army is spread out across the country, it will not be able to carry out the tasks required. At the moment, when Israel decides to strike any area in Lebanon, it has no ability to prevent any plane from reaching its target, let alone shoot it down. Why is it that until now, the Lebanese army is so weak?

This is a political and diplomatic decision. Until now, there has been an international decision not to supply the Lebanese army with weapons. Whenever we try to find a country that is willing to provide weapons to Lebanon, the Americans decide that it's forbidden to arm Lebanon except through American channels. Washington provides around $150 million annually to the Lebanese army, most of which goes towards non-lethal equipment. That's around 1% of the $12.5 billion in military aid given to Israel last year. The U.S. has promised Lebanon to increase military aid to $1 billion per year for the next 10 years.

Do you believe that this is a firm commitment? There are no guarantees. Who can guarantee its continuity for 10 years? And will this money give the army the ability to defend? Or will it just be used for symbolic things like vehicles and other devices? On the ground, the Lebanese army is spread thin, a lone vehicle here and there. Four thousand five hundred additional troops should be recruited and trained by December. Many Christians support the idea.

Shadi Say is the mayor of Al-Mashab, a Christian village less than a mile from the border with Israel. The Lebanese government includes different sects, religions, and components of Lebanese society. So we will submit to whatever the government decides. We believe in Lebanese institutions. We believe in the Lebanese army. Some fear that Washington's plan could pit the Lebanese army against Hezbollah while fueling tensions between Lebanon's different sects.

Israel's goal is to turn the battle into an internal battle, because then it will be easy for it to keep the southern lands or invade other lands under the pretext that the Lebanese people are distracted with each other and unable to provide security. It's all part of a broader reshuffle taking place in the Middle East, but in Lebanon it risks upsetting the delicate balance of power that has kept internal conflict at bay. For the PBS News Hour, I'm Simona Fultein in Lebanon. Thank you.