Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel said Hezbollah’s rejection to hand over its weapons was nothing more than a “populist rhetoric” and does not go beyond "media posturing,” insisting that the process of transferring arms to the Lebanese Army, both south and north of the Litani River, was moving forward smoothly and without resistance.

"The train of the long-awaited State has departed, in line with the course charted by the president and government. The Cabinet’s decision to collect weapons, and the army’s plan to implement it, represent a pivotal milestone on the path to building a genuine and capable state,” Gemayel told Kuwait’s Al-Anbaa newspaper. 

He said the decision to enforce the State’s exclusive control over arms was final and “irreversible.” Armed groups outside State authority, he warned, should not imagine they could pressure the government into backtracking or applying the rules selectively to suit their agendas.

“This is not another Taif scenario dictated by Hezbollah under Syrian tutelage,” Gemayel said, referring to Lebanon’s 1989 peace accord. “Those opposing the government’s decision to collect weapons must realize the train has already left the station, and Lebanon is on an inevitable path toward rebirth."

Gemayel praised the leadership of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, alongside what he called a competent cabinet. Their presence, he said, has helped restore Lebanon’s credibility abroad and boosted confidence in the country’s reform agenda.

“The presence of President General Joseph Aoun at the head of the State, alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and a cabinet of competent ministers—most notably Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who is sparing no effort to advance the reform process, particularly in the judicial and legal spheres—has helped Lebanon regain the trust of the international community and the credibility of its institutions. This has raised optimism about Lebanon’s future. Proof of this lies in the conferences to be held at home and abroad in October and November in support of the army’s financial and military capacities, as well as the ‘Beirut 1’ conference aimed at launching investments across all sectors in Lebanon.”

Gemayel emphasized that Kataeb and other sovereignist forces are relying primarily on themselves to support the State, while also welcoming foreign initiatives from Arab, European, and Western partners.

“It is our duty to encourage these initiatives, whether from Gulf Arab states, the United States, or the European Union led by France,” he said.

Gemayel reiterated his party’s call for Israel to withdraw from territories it occupied during the recent war, to release Lebanese detainees, and to fully respect the ceasefire in the same way Lebanon has.

“We call on Lebanon’s friends to use their influence with Israel to ensure these commitments are met,” he added.

Gemayel concluded by reaffirming his party’s backing for the army as the cornerstone of state-building.

“We, alongside President Aoun and within government, provide the army with all the necessary support to strengthen its capacity and extend State authority across all Lebanese territory,” he said. “With unprecedented Arab backing, we are confident the Lebanese Army will soon take its place among the region’s strong forces.”