White House pressing Lebanon to normalize ties with Israel – report

Disarmament of Hezbollah is also very high on the Trump administration’s list of conditions for aid.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The White House is linking aid to Lebanon to normalizing ties with Israel and forcing the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror organization that runs as a state within a state to disarm, according to a report in the Lebanese paper Al Liwaa.

Deputy US Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, who has been the administration’s point woman in Lebanon, is expected to arrive in Beirut in the coming days, the report said.

In her last visit just a month ago, she had emphasized the importance of disarming Hezbollah and pushed for greater progress in the Lebanese Army’s takeover of southern Lebanon from the terrorist group, a key point in the November ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.

Al Liwaa’s report said that the White House is pressing for the job to be completed, and that Lebanese leaders agree to “support … a broader regional normalization process,” which refers to Israel.

The paper’s sources said that the Americans are hinting strongly that if Lebanon does not comply, economic aid and investments that the country desperately needs will not be forthcoming.

It is possible that US President Donald Trump was implying this when, during an economic summit in Riyadh last week, he said regarding the Land of Cedars, “My administration is ready to help Lebanon build a future of economic development and peace with its neighbors.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to forge a Lebanon that is prosperous and at peace with its neighbors,” he added.

According to Tayyar, the media outlet of the Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement party, a clear message was sent to Beirut when Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, last week “agreed to take steps that would lead him, in one way or another, to the Abraham Accords,” after meeting with Trump on the sidelines of his Mideast tour.

After that meeting, Trump announced that he would be ending all US financial sanctions on Syria.

“The US-Saudi message came clearly,” the media outlet wrote. “Whoever wants to enjoy what al-Sharaa enjoyed must take the initiative and meet the conditions without hesitation.”

It is no secret that Trump is interested in expanding the number of Arab countries that have normalized ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords to help bring peace to the region, including Saudi Arabia, which he noted very clearly in his speech as well.

The Americans are even getting down to the details to get rid of roadblocks to an Israeli-Lebanese rapprochement, Al Liwaa said, specifically mentioning a resolution of the dispute over the Mount Dov area.

Hezbollah claims the small northern piece of land being held by Israel, which it calls Shebaa Farms, is Lebanese territory, and until Israel relinquishes its hold the group has every right to “armed resistance.”

The UN has established that the area is Syrian territory.

The paper suggested that the Americans want Lebanon to officially drop the claim so that Hezbollah won’t have that excuse to field its own army within the country, leading to support for having it dismantled.