A new opinion poll has found that a majority of Lebanese people oppose the disarmament of the Hezbollah resistance movement and believe that the country’s army is not capable of confronting Israeli acts of aggression on its own.
The survey conducted by Lebanon’s Consultative Center for Studies and Documentation revealed that 58 percent of the Lebanese are against the surrender of Hezbollah’s weapons “without a defensive strategy.”
The opposition to Hezbollah disarmament was the strongest among the Shias (96 percent), followed by Druze (50 percent), Sunnis (46 percent), and Christians (32 percent), according to the poll.
It also found that 71.7 percent of the Lebanese do not believe the army is capable of confronting Israeli attacks on its own.
It further revealed that 76 percent believe Lebanon’s diplomatic relations are not enough to deter Israel.
The survey was carried out among 600 respondents from across Lebanon on July 27-August 4.
Last week, the Lebanese cabinet endorsed the objectives of the US proposal for disarming Hezbollah by the end of the year.
Hezbollah condemned the government’s decision as a “grave sin,” warning that it fully serves the interests of Israel, which still occupies areas in Lebanon and carries out near-daily violations of a November 2024 ceasefire.
The move would weaken Lebanon and leave it exposed to the Israeli enemy without any deterrence, the resistance group said.
It also vowed to treat the government’s decision “as if it does not exist,” saying Hezbollah remains “open to dialogue on national security strategy, but … Israel must first implement agreements and withdraw from all Lebanese territories.”