After Beirut approved a plan to disarm the Hezbollah organization by the end of the year, US special envoy Tom Barrack demanded that Israel halt its involvement in Lebanon’s military exercises.
“The Lebanese government has done their part,” he said. “There is always a step-by-step approach. The first step was made by them. After meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Barrack said to reporters in Beirut, Lebanon, that what we need now is that equal handshake.
As Israel’s military halts ground, air, and sea operations and withdraws its troops from Lebanon’s south, according to the US-backed plan, which provides a four-phase roadmap for the Hezbollah organization.
Despite Hezbollah’s outright refusal to disarm, the Lebanon’s cabinet approved the plan on August 7 despite the country’s cabinet’s approval of it. This raises the possibility that Israel might launch more attacks on Lebanon even as it violates the November truce it signed with Hezbollah to end its conflict.
Israel has continued to attack Lebanon in the weeks that have passed the cabinet’s plan.
Barrack said the US was “in the process of discussing their position with Israel” and that the cabinet’s decision was a “Lebanese decision that necessitated Israel’s cooperation,” but he gave no further details.
The US envoy responded to a question from reporters about whether he anticipated Israel’s complete withdrawal from Lebanese territory, saying “that’s exactly the next step.”
“Every side cooperates,” he says. Nobody should be intimidated by us. He added that Hezbollah, Lebanon, and Israel will all benefit from the positive outcomes.
An economic proposal
After months of diplomatic tussle between the US and Lebanon, the US envoy added that Washington would request an economic proposal for post-war reconstruction in the nation.
Following the meeting on Monday, Barrack expressed optimism and said that a “return to prosperity and peace is possible.” In the upcoming weeks, I believe there will be improvement in a number of areas.
According to Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, who is based in Beirut, “the American envoy is making his first trip to Lebanon since the Lebanese cabinet mandated the Lebanese army to examine how to disarm Hezbollah.”
Given that Hezbollah refused, there are still many questions about how this process will proceed.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned of “no life” in Lebanon if the state attempted to confront or overthrow the group on Friday, citing the threat of civil war.
Aoun said “other parties” now needed to commit to the roadmap’s contents in a written statement following his meeting with Barrack.
Additionally, Barrack will meet with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who frequently negotiate with Washington on behalf of Hezbollah.
A “return to peace and prosperity”?
The Lebanese government will announce a decision in phase one of the US-backed plan that will require Israel to stop conducting military operations in Lebanese territory and commits to Hezbollah’s full disarmament by the end of the year, which it currently has.
Within 60 days, Lebanon would begin implementing the disarmament plan, and the government would approve troop deployments in the south. Then, Israel would begin removing Lebanese prisoners and resuming its military presence there.
In phase three, which should occur within 90 days, Israel will leave the final two border positions and funding would be secured for reconstruction in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s allies will hold a conference to support the country’s economic recovery in phase four, during which Hezbollah’s last heavy weapons will be destroyed.
Hassan Nasrallah, a long-time leader, was killed in a massive Israeli attack on Beirut last year, which severely weakened Hezbollah following its 14-month conflict with Israel. Hezbollah was regarded as having better weapons than the Lebanese army prior to the war.
The organization has long argued that its weapons must be kept in order to protect Lebanon from attacks, but critics have accused it of using them as political leverage.
Hezbollah has stated that it won’t discuss its arsenal until southern Lebanon is overrun by Israel’s attacks. Both Aoun and Salam want to end Hezbollah, and they’ve also demanded that Israel stop its attacks and resign.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, drones could be overheard in the towns of Wadi Zefta, al-Numairiyeh, and Wadi Kafra as a result of Israeli attacks that just happened on Monday, including one that involved a house bombing in Meiss el-Jabal and a sound bombing in Dahra border town.
