https://arab.news/vgffd
- Tom Barrack meets Lebanese officials, including President Joseph Aoun, and calls on Israel to honor its commitments under ceasefire deal
- He describes hour-long talks with Aoun as excellent and says he hopes to see progress over the next few weeks
BEIRUT: US envoy Tom Barrack on Monday called on Israel to honor its commitments under the ceasefire agreement that ended its war with Hezbollah, after the Lebanese government launched a process to disarm the group.
During a visit to Beirut, Barrack affirmed Lebanon’s commitment to a “step-by-step policy” for implementation of the plan to strip Hezbollah of its weapons.
Following a series of meetings with Lebanese officials, Barrack told Hezbollah and Iran: “Hezbollah is part of the Shiite sect and must understand which option is better than the one currently available.
“The next step entails working with the government to clarify what this means, how we can restore prosperity, who will invest in it, who will participate, and how we can bring Israel and Iran to cooperate.
"In the end, Iran is still our neighbor and everyone should play a role in this matter. There should be cooperation, not hostility and confrontation.”
The Lebanese government announced on Aug. 7 that it would bring all weaponry in Lebanon under state control within a specified time frame. It instructed the army to draw up a plan for disarming Hezbollah in areas south of the Litani River and submit it to the cabinet in early September, with implementation scheduled to begin by the end of the year.
This sparked a political crisis within Hezbollah, which categorically rejected the plan. The group’s secretary-general, Naim Qassem, said: “We will not give up a single weapon.”
Hezbollah has set a number of conditions before it will enter into any talks about its weapons, including an end to Israeli hostilities and assassinations of its members, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied areas in southern Lebanon.
Barrack and fellow US envoy Morgan Ortagus first met with President Joseph Aoun. The president’s office said he “asked his guest whether he had received an Israeli response to the US proposal and Lebanon’s remarks on it.”
Barrack said that “the Israelis have not yet responded,” and “the US had also not received an answer from the Syrian side regarding the eastern and northern borders, as outlined in the US proposal.”
A source at the Presidential Palace told Arab News that Barrack congratulated Aoun on the Lebanese government’s decision. Their discussion focused on the renewal of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s mandate at the end of this month, the source added, noting that “the American side insisted this year should be the UN peacekeepers’ last.”
Aoun reiterated calls “to support the Lebanese army in light of the missions assigned to it, particularly the deployment in the south and along the eastern and northern borders, to facilitate the implementation of the army’s disarmament plan.”
The president also reminded the US representatives of the need for the reconstruction project for southern Lebanon, parts of which were destroyed by Israel during its most recent conflict with Hezbollah, to proceed swiftly to provide displaced citizens with stability.
Barrack described the hour-long meeting with Aoun as excellent and said he hoped to see progress over the next few weeks.
“The next step is we need participation on the part of Israel, and we need an economic plan for prosperity, restoration and renovation, for all regions, not just the south,” he said.
“When we talk about disarming Hezbollah, it is actually for the (Shiites) … It’s not (anti-Shiite). The idea is that the (Shiite) population is Lebanese. This is a Lebanese decision that requires Israel’s cooperation.”
Barrack said that what is required is “the implementation of the (existing) ceasefire agreement that has been violated. We do not have a new agreement and our goal is not to create a new one.
“There’s always a step-by-step approach but I think the Lebanese government has done their part. They’ve taken the first step. Now what we need is Israel to comply.”
If Hezbollah refuses to surrender its weapons, Barrack said the group “will have missed an opportunity. But at this stage, everyone is cooperating.”
He added: “We are beginning long discussions and I believe that this will proceed, step-by-step. The major step was what the president and the government’s team undertook in giving us an opportunity to help, for the US to help with this transition, and to reach a more peaceful relationship with its neighbors.
“We are not considering issuing any threats. This is complicated. When we talk about disarmament, they ask, ‘What will we gain and how do we protect ourselves?’ They say, ‘We have regional forces that protect us. Will the Lebanese army protect us? What is the transitional phase, and what does the future hold for us?’”
Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, also held talks with the American envoys, which focused on Israel’s commitment to the ceasefire agreement, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory.
“Such a commitment is the gateway to stability in Lebanon, and an opportunity to launch reconstruction and pave the way for the return of residents to their towns, in addition to securing the requirements for supporting the Lebanese army,” Berri said, according to his media office.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told the US envoys the government’s latest decisions were based on the national interest. Washington “should carry out its responsibility in pressing Israel to halt hostilities, withdraw from (Lebanese territory) and release captives,” he added.
Salam also stressed “the priority of supporting and enhancing the capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces, in salaries and equipment, to enable them to perform the missions requested from them, and the importance of renewing the mandate of the UNIFIL forces in light of their role in consolidating stability and supporting the army in extending the state’s authority in the south.”
Salam’s office said the discussions also addressed “developments in Syria, with both sides emphasizing the importance of preserving its unity and enhancing stability there.”
Barrack and Ortagus also met Gen. Rodolph Haykal, commander of the Lebanese army, to discuss assistance for his forces in the implementation of the disarmament plan.
The US officials traveled from Lebanon to Israel on Monday afternoon. Israeli media quoted a political source as saying that Israel would play its part in the process when Lebanon was seen to be taking concrete steps.
A withdrawal from Lebanese territory would take place through a coordinated mechanism with the ceasefire-agreement committee, the source added, and Israel has no intention of retaining any of that territory.
However, a Lebanese military source warned of “a dangerous Israeli expansion in recent weeks across the southern border territories, without any deterrence.”
The source said Israel had established military barracks at Al-Mahafir Hill on the outskirts of the border town of Adaisseh, created a new post near the outskirts of Kfar Kila, adjacent to the separation wall, and blocked several kilometers of the border with concrete walls extending from the northern entrance of Adaisseh, opposite Misgav Am, to Talat Al-Hamames, alongside Kfar Kila’s wall opposite the Metula settlement.
The source told Arab News that Israel was attempting to establish a closed security belt extending up to 3 kilometers deep in places.