Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:05:00 GMT

Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora says there are no plans to disarm Hezbollah, citing continued Israeli occupation as the real problem.

"We will not try to disarm the resistance (Hezbollah). This issue is the subject of discussion among the Lebanese themselves," Lebanon's National News Agency quoted Siniora as saying.

Siniora said that Israeli occupation forced Hezbollah to arm, adding that the Israeli regime's 1982 invasion of Lebanon led to the creation of the resistance movement.

"These weapons are the result of occupation. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 using fabricated excuses under the pretext of destroying the Palestine Liberation Organization. What happened? The PLO was not dismantled, but the occupation led to the emergence of Hezbollah," said the Lebanese prime minister.

So the real problem lies in the continuing Israeli occupation of Lebanese land, Siniora explained.

The majority bloc in the Lebanese parliament maintains that the government should take control of weapons and have the sole authority to take decisions on war and peace. In contrast, Hezbollah refuses to disarm, arguing that it needs its weapons to defend the country against Israel.

In the summer of 2006, the Israeli regime waged a 33-day war against Lebanon from July 12 to August 14. It imposed an air and naval blockade on Lebanon and launched a ground incursion into the country's southern regions.

Although Israel claimed that the objective was to destroy Hezbollah, the attacks claimed the lives of more than 1100 Lebanese civilians.

The Lebanese army did not intervene during the conflict. However, it did deploy forces to southern parts of the country on August 17. Israel lifted its blockade of Lebanon on September 8.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=70222&sectionid=351020203