Lebanon: Officials push back on Hezbollah disarmament pressure
Government officials in Lebanon have drawn red lines in disarmament talks, conditioning any compliance with US demands for Hezbollah’s disarmament on Israeli pullback, The Arab Weekly plus agencies reported on July 1st.
During negotiations in Lebanon on June 19th, US Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack reportedly urged the Lebanese government to ensure Hezbollah disarms completely.
President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri are said to be drafting a joint response, one that only accepts US mandates on the basis of Israeli pullback from from five contested areas. Further conditions include the liberation of detainees, official border demarcation, and reconstruction talks.
The current ceasefire is grounded in the same UN Security Council Resolution that ended the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel war. It stipulates that Hezbollah must withdraw from the south of the Litani River and dismantle all military infrastructure in that area, which would be replaced by the presence of Lebanese forces, alongside UN peacekeepers.
Despite the ceasefire requiring Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territories captured during the war, Israel still holds the domain of over five strategic hilltops.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar openly expressed Israel’s desire to grow ties with Syria and Lebanon, broadening the Abraham Accords. He said: “We have interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbours, to the circle of peace and normalisation, while safeguarding Israel’s essential and security interests.”
Amid the US envoy’s expected return, Lebanon faces pressure from multiple angles, especially as Hezbollah is allegedly unwilling to agree to disarmament, even if Israel withdraws. Lebanon’s government wants to avoid civil war and hopes to influence the group to conform through diplomatic measures.
The Lebanese counterproposal highlights the importance the country places on its sovereignty, in a bid to deliver actions in favour of balance, rather than surrender.
The Arab Weekly plus agencies, Reuters, Maghrebi.org
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