Lebanon’s cabinet on Tuesday authorised the army to draft a detailed plan to ensure that all weapons in the country are held exclusively by state security forces. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the blueprint must be delivered to the government by 31 August and fully implemented before the end of the year. The decision, approved during a six-hour meeting at Baabda Palace chaired by President Joseph Aoun, will be revisited in a follow-up session scheduled for Thursday. Information Minister Paul Morcos said the measure was adopted despite the walk-out of Health Minister Rakan Naser Eldine and Environment Minister Tamara El Zein, both aligned with the Hezbollah–Amal bloc. Morcos added that the two ministers are expected to return for the next meeting. The cabinet framed the move as consistent with the 1989 Taif Accord, the government’s policy statement and UN Security Council Resolution 1901, all of which call for a state monopoly on arms. Hezbollah’s deputy chief Naim Qassem rejected any binding timetable, arguing that disarmament cannot proceed while Israel maintains cross-border strikes and troops remain on five disputed hilltops. Sources close to the group told local media that the issue of weapons should be settled through dialogue rather than confrontation. Washington has been pressing Beirut to spell out a schedule for Hezbollah’s disarmament, linking future economic assistance and reconstruction aid to stronger state authority. During Tuesday’s session the cabinet also agreed to continue examining a separate U.S. proposal related to the November 2024 cease-fire with Israel. The army has already begun restricting Hezbollah motorbike convoys in Beirut’s southern suburbs, signalling an intent to enforce the new directive even before the formal plan is finalised. If the timetable holds, Lebanon would, for the first time since its 1975-1990 civil war, assert sole control over all arms by 31 December, a step officials say is critical to restoring economic stability and international confidence.