BEIRUT, Lebanon– On Wednesday, the Lebanese government endorsed Hezbollah’s right to keep its weapons cache to deter Israeli attacks.  This decision comes as the latest sign that Hezbollah has no intention of meeting a U.N. resolution calling for it to disarm.

Hezbollah is believed to have thousands of rockets and missiles hidden in bunkers and basements throughout Shi’ite Muslim areas throughout the country.  However, Hezbollah’s refusal to give up its weapons cache has created a great deal of division in the country as well as in Israel, which says it is in the process of preparing to deploy a defense system to shoot down rockets from Lebanon.

After Hezbollah’s 2006 war with Israel, a United Nations resolution was passed which called on the armed militant group to disarm.  Despite that resolution, Hezbollah says it must retain its weapons to fight off any future Israeli threat and persistent violations of Lebanon’s airspace.  Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, recently said that his group had replenished its weapons stock since the 2006 war and now has more than 30,000 rockets at its disposal.  These rockets are believed to be capable of striking anywhere in Israel.

All thirty members of the Lebanese cabinet voted Wednesday to approve the policy statement that endorses Hezbollah’s right to keep its weapons.   The adopted policy statement, which lays out the government’s goals for the next four years, illustrates how the government is reluctant to take strong action against Hezbollah for fear of instigating a crisis.  Of course, as many analysts believe, Hezbollah has virtual veto power over the government and so any reservations of instigating a crisis may be unfounded.

Nonetheless, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri largely dismissed the policy statement, arguing that its lasting effect is to tackle economic woes, financial instability and public debt.  The statement, to be presented to Parliament next week for a vote of confidence, is seen as a key to tacking the deep divisions between Hariri’s coalition and Syrian and Iranian backed Hezbollah and its allies.

For more information, please see:

Kuwait Times- Lebanon Government Backs Hezbollah Arms Right– 3 December 2009

The Associated Press- Lebanese Cabinet Lets Hezbollah Keep Its Weapons– 2 December 2009

BBC News- Hezbollah Weapons Right Endorsed– 2 December 2009