Israel called today for Hizbollah to be disarmed after a sweeping victory for the Lebanese guerrilla group in an election in southern Lebanon.
Speaking after the Shi'ite Hizbollah and Amal movements stomped to victory at the polls, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said: “Hizbollah is unfortunately a heavily armed terrorist organisation.“
“The solution to Lebanon's problems will begin with the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 which calls for the disarming of Hizbollah,” he added.
The Hizbollah and Amal movements won all 23 seats in southern Lebanon, confirming their domination among Shi'ite Muslims, the country's largest sect. Lebanese Interior Ministry sources said voter turnout was 45 per cent.
Lebanese national parliamentary elections are being held by region over four weekends.
Many in the Shi'ite heartland saw a vote for Hizbollah, which is on the United States' list of terror organisations, as a vote for it to retain its arms as a defence against Israel, which occupied the south for 22 years until 2000.
The United States has demanded that Lebanon and Syria, which bowed to world pressure and ended its 29-year military presence in the country in April, implement UN Resolution 1559 and disarm all guerrilla groups.
Hizbollah has vowed to fight to the death any attempts to forcibly take away its weapons.
It says it is willing to talk to other Lebanese over its fate but that it would keep its weapons as long as Israel “continued to threaten” Lebanon.