(AFP) – US President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to help Lebanon “a lot” as its president, Joseph Aoun, sought Washington’s backing for a fragile effort to disarm Hezbollah and forge a path to peace with Israel. Aoun, the first Lebanese president invited to Washington since 2009, asked Trump for political support and continued backing for the Lebanese army, which has begun deploying in southern areas under a US-backed framework agreement with Israel.
“We need to support the LAF,” Aoun said, referring to the Lebanese Armed Forces. “Without the LAF, everything will collapse.” Meeting Aoun at the White House, Trump said Lebanon had been “a very mistreated country” that had been “hit hard” for decades.
“It’s probably a dangerous place in a lot of ways,” Trump told reporters. “But they love the country… and we’re going to help it. We’re going to help it a lot.” After the talks, Trump said he would authorize the resumption of direct flights by US airlines to Lebanon, which were suspended more than 40 years ago after the 1985 hijacking by Lebanese Islamist militants of a TWA flight with many Americans aboard. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam hailed the announcement, saying it “represents a significant opportunity to enhance travel and connectivity between Lebanon and the United States, and to support the Lebanese economy.”
– ‘Backbone’ –
Aoun, a former army commander, said in Washington that the Lebanese military was “the backbone of security and stability” and the country’s most trusted institution. His office said he had emphasized the “urgent need for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory” as necessary to moving forward with the framework deal. Asked whether Washington would put additional pressure on Israel to withdraw, Trump said: “We’ll be looking at that.”
Aoun’s visit came as the Lebanese army moved into an area of the south under a deal with Israel aimed at proving Beirut can extend state authority and disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah, which Israel has set as a precondition for ending its occupation. But in a sign of the fragility of that agreement, the Lebanese army said Israeli troops fired near its soldiers deploying in a so-called “pilot zone” from which Israel is supposed to withdraw. The “pilot zones” where the Lebanese army is deploying are primarily located just outside territory Israeli forces invaded after Hezbollah opened rocket fire on Israel and drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March.
The Lebanese army said Tuesday it had begun deploying to one of three pilot zones, the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, but hours later, it said Israeli forces had “opened fire in the vicinity of these units.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had only fired “warning shots into the air” after Lebanese soldiers entered an area that was “not part of the pilot area.” No injuries were reported, the IDF said.
– ‘Terrorist infrastructure’ –
Aoun has staunchly criticized Hezbollah for forcing Lebanon into the war and has vowed since taking office in early 2025 to bring all weapons under state control. But Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected laying down its arms, and the group has flatly opposed both the deal and the Israel-Lebanon negotiations that underpin it. Aoun said the framework agreement did not require parliamentary endorsement and was a presidential prerogative under Lebanon’s constitution.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting Aoun on Sunday that Lebanon would “never truly get peace” as long as Hezbollah remained armed. Rubio also praised what he called the Lebanese government’s effort to reclaim sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah, and dismantle its “terrorist infrastructure.” Aoun’s push comes after Israeli strikes in the latest conflict killed more than 4,300 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities. The violence has dropped off sharply since the signing of a framework agreement between the United States and Iran last month and the Lebanon-Israel deal.
– Frankie TAGGART
© 2024 AFP
