Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Friday declared that a “decision has been made” to confiscate illegal weapons across the country, affirming that the Lebanese Army has already presented a plan for implementation.
“There will be no reversal of the decision to confiscate weapons,” Salam said following a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai in Bkerke, stressing that “in less than a week, we will receive a new report from the army commander concerning this issue.”
The prime minister noted that the government had also taken “serious steps” to address the issue of weapons in Palestinian camps, revealing that more than 20 truckloads of heavy arms had been handed over to the authorities. “This is an ongoing process that we have not yet completed,” he added.
Turning to border tensions, Salam said Lebanon is “witnessing an Israeli escalation,” stressing that the government is “working through the established mechanism and through Arab and international channels to mobilize all capabilities to return to the ceasefire agreement.”
On domestic matters, the prime minister confirmed that parliamentary elections will be held on their constitutional date. “We are working as a government on this basis, and this is not open to discussion,” he said.
He added that a small parliamentary commission had been formed to review the implementation of the electoral law, acknowledging that “certain gaps and ambiguities remain,” while emphasizing that this is “a matter for the legislative branch” and therefore “beyond the government’s scope of action.”
The Prime Minister also spoke about his recent meeting with Pope Leo XIV, calling it “very important and fruitful,” and expressed hope that the Pope’s upcoming visit to Lebanon, scheduled for November 30 to December 2, “will be highly positive.”
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