UNITED NATIONS – One of the most prominent voices in Lebanon’s pro-independence movement, Walid Jumblatt, told reporters yesterday that the Syrian-backed Hezbollah has no justification to remain armed.

His words came after meetings with top Bush administration officials in Washington and on the eve of a crucial meeting of all Lebanese factions in Beirut on Monday, where the issue of compliance with a Security Council resolution demanding the disarming of all Lebanese militias is expected to top the agenda.

Mr. Jumblatt, a Druze leader whose father was assassinated by Syrian agents in the 1970s, said that Shaba farms, which are held by Israel and is used by Hezbollah as a pretext to remain armed, are in fact Syrian territory. There is no reason “to continue the so-called military struggle,” he said.

Mr. Jumblatt met Secretary-General Annan yesterday and had breakfast with the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the Security Council. On Wednesday, he met Secretary of State Rice in Washington.

Mr. Annan certified in 2000 that Israel had withdrawn its forces from all Lebanese territories. A U.N. team that demarcated the Israeli-Lebanese border, known as the “blue line,” determined that the Israeli-held Shaba, a small area on the edge of the Golan Heights, had in the past been part of Syria and that its status should therefore be determined in future Israeli-Syrian talks.

Lebanese Supporters of Syria maintained, however, that Shaba proves that Israeli withdrawal was incomplete. Hezbollah, which had boasted that its attacks on Israeli troops forced the government of Ehud Barak to leave southern Lebanon, argued that it needs to remain armed in order to “liberate” Shaba. The terror organization, which is backed by Syria and Iran, defied a Security Council resolution demanding all Lebanese militias lay down their weapons.

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, said on Wednesday that in future the “status of the Shaba farms” might need to be revisited. Such a move, he said, might help “diffuse the situation, including the activities of Hezbollah and the situation in the region in general.”

But Mr. Jumblatt said that, based on documents he found searching the Internet, he agreed with the U.N. conclusion that all Lebanese territory has already “been liberated.” The Lebanese people “do thank Hezbollah for all their sacrifices liberating the south,” he said. “But now their mission … is over.”

Mr. Jumblatt added that Palestinian Arab camps inside Lebanon must also be disarmed. Weapons in the camps, he said, belong to “dissidents directly linked to the Syrian government.” However, disarming must be done “through dialogue,” he said. “Nobody is thinking of a military offensive” by Lebanon’s army.

Asked about a possible peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Mr. Jumblatt said, “We cannot go on our own, as Lebanese, into a separate peace. We have tried it before. It caused a lot of disorder inside Lebanon.” For now, he said, Beirut will stick to ceasefire agreements with Israel, dating back to 1949.