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Lebanese Cabinet lets Hezbollah keep its weapons
Lebanon's new government Wednesday endorsed Hezbollah's right to keep its weapons, the latest sign that the group has no intention of meeting a U.N. resolution calling for it to disarm.
Lebanon's government is a shaky coalition of Western-backed factions and the militant group Hezbollah, which has virtual veto power over the government. The group is believed to have thousands of rockets and missiles hidden in basements and bunkers throughout Shiite Muslim areas of the tiny country.
Hezbollah's refusal to give up its weapons has generated division within the country as well as concern in Israel, which says it is preparing to deploy a defense system to shoot down rockets from Lebanon.
A United Nations resolution that ended Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel calls on the group to disarm, but Hezbollah says it must retain its weapons to fight off any future Israeli threat and persistent violations of Lebanon's airspace.