Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has moved to ease tensions with Hezbollah and its ally Amal by revising the agenda of Friday’s cabinet meeting, but the move was met with sharp pushback from the group, which accused the government of serving “foreign dictates” in its handling of the sensitive issue of non-state weapons.

The cabinet secretariat on Thursday issued an amended agenda that expanded the discussion beyond the initial item – disarmament plan– to include four additional issues. Three of them are tied directly to portfolios held by ministers close to Amal and Hezbollah, while the fourth concerns the energy ministry.

According to Nidaa Al-Watan newspaper, the meeting, described by the government as “urgent and pressing,” will feature a presentation by Army Commander Gen. Rodolf Haykal outlining a technical plan to restrict arms outside State control. Ministers are then expected to debate the proposal before issuing a statement reaffirming earlier cabinet and presidential commitments, as well as the U.S.-brokered framework agreement, all of which emphasize the State’s exclusive right to bear arms, the return of captives, and the liberation of occupied territories.

So far, President Joseph Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri have not spoken directly, with exchanges confined to intermediaries. Communication between Baabda Palace and Hezbollah remains frozen.

Just two days before the cabinet session, Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Loyalty to the Resistance, issued a strongly worded statement accusing Salam’s government of “offering free gifts to the enemy” and urged it to retract its “unconstitutional and unpatriotic” approach to the weapons file.

The bloc pressed for dialogue under Berri’s sponsorship, warning that the government’s decisions risked “undermining national unity” and plunging the country into greater division.

Hezbollah also accused the cabinet of corruption, calling it “tragicomic that the stench of corruption emanates from a government that claims reform while appearing paralyzed except when bowing to foreign orders.”

The statement prioritized regional conflicts, devoting lengthy sections to Gaza and Yemen before addressing domestic politics.

Lebanon’s religious authorities also weighed in. The Maronite bishops welcomed what they called a renewed determination to “regain sovereignty over all Lebanese territory and rally around constitutional institutions,” praising the military’s efforts to collect weapons, both Palestinian and local.

They urged preparations for upcoming talks with Damascus to address border demarcation, the fate of Syrian detainees in Lebanon, missing Lebanese in Syrian prisons, and broader bilateral relations; issues they said were vital to resolving the conflict with Israel and reviving south Lebanon.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Daryan, marking the Prophet’s birthday, declared that “placing all weapons under the authority of the State is a fundamental Lebanese demand.” He warned that the country could not live with “two armies” and condemned what he called the “alliance of weapons and corruption.”

“The decision of war and peace must remain in the hands of the State and its institutions,” he said. “Differences must not lead to insults, betrayal, or disregard for the nation’s interests.”

The political showdown comes as U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus and the new head of U.S. Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, are expected in Beirut on Sunday.