Hezbollah chief rejects disarmament as pressure on Lebanon grows

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that calls for the Iran-aligned militant group's disarmament served only Israel, as the United States ramps up pressure for steps to remove its arsenal.

"Those who call for submitting arms practically demand submitting them to Israel ... We will not submit to Israel," Qassem said in a televised address.

Hezbollah emerged badly damaged from a war with Israel last year that eliminated most of the group's leadership, killed thousands of its fighters and left tens of thousands of its supporters displaced from their destroyed homes.

The U.S. is now pushing Lebanon to issue a formal cabinet decision committing to disarm Hezbollah before talks can resume on a halt to Israeli military operations in the country, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Hezbollah has publicly refused to hand over its arsenal in full, but has privately weighed scaling it back.

"Those who call for disarmament on a domestic, global or Arab level serve the Israeli project," Qassem said.

He also said the U.S. was demanding a removal of Hezbollah's missiles and drones because they "scare" Israel, accusing U.S. special envoy Thomas Barrack of calling for disarmament for the sake of Israel and not Lebanon's own security.

"Israel will not be able to defeat us and it will not be able to take Lebanon hostage," he added.

In early July, Barrack met Lebanese officials in Beirut to discuss the disarmament proposal. It would see Hezbollah fully disarmed within four months in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops occupying several posts in south Lebanon and a halt to Israeli air strikes.

Hezbollah has been under pressure in recent months both within Lebanon and from Washington to completely relinquish its weaponry.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam; writing by Jaidaa Taha; editing by Mark Heinrich)