hyperman
INT'L MOD
If they are destroying buildings, they don't intend to withdraw and let people go home.
Lebanon-Israel War | 2023-present
- Thread starter Persian Gulf
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If they are destroying buildings, they don't intend to withdraw and let people go home.
UKBengali
Elite Member
More likely to depopulate the area and leave it barren land.
A buffer zone in effect in Southern Lebanon.
PakFactor
Elite Member
The Lebanese Army will protest by providing Arabic tea to the Israeli military in the south they were experts in 2006 doing the same.
StrategicBear
Registered Member
Will the fighting commence again after ceasefire period ends?
Persian Gulf
INT'L MOD
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IDF Jewish-Nazis desecrate Church in Lebanon
Persian Gulf
INT'L MOD
- Thread starter
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developing story
Lebanon is not serious about disarming Hezbollah
Topping the list of reasons for lack of Lebanese interest, all presidential hopefuls need Hezbollah votesby Hussain Abdul-Hussain
January 4, 2025
Lebanon is not serious about enforcing the UNSC Resolution 1701 mechanism agreement that it signed with Israel on November 27 and that ended 14 months of war.
Before the ceasefire, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) watched Hezbollah hollow out 1701. The military justified its idleness by blaming the executive power for not issuing orders. After Lebanon’s caretaker cabinet endorsed the deal, LAF continued to drag its feet, for no obvious reason other than the political ambitions of its chief, presidential hopeful Joseph Aoun.
US Envoy Amos Hochstein is scheduled to visit Beirut on Monday to discuss Lebanese failure in meeting deadlines set by the ceasefire’s timetable.
Hezbollah now seems to have a new tactic. Instead of boasting about its capabilities in warring with Israel, the Iran-backed militia has instructed caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to pretend that Lebanon has lived up to its part of the deal, and that it is now incumbent on the Jewish state to stop its “violations” and accelerate its withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
What Mikati called violations were in fact Israel enforcing 1701 by striking Hezbollah’s rearmament shipments, an arrangement that Lebanon had signed on to. The deal also stipulated that the Israeli military would control up to five miles of Lebanese territory as long as Hezbollah maintains its ability to reconstitute. Israel promised to return the no-man’s land when the LAF has disarmed Hezbollah and neutralized its threat.
From the sliver of Lebanese territory that Israel controls, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dug up Hezbollah arms caches, confiscating 85,000 items, including missiles, rockets and launchers, enough to arm a mid-size army.
Meanwhile, Mikati and Aoun visited the southern town of Marjaayoun, signaling that the state had now restored its sovereignty south of River Litani. But the Lebanese state and its army have yet to show a single bullet that they have confiscated from Hezbollah.
Unlike the IDF, the Lebanese army busted rings of narcotics trade and petty crime. The LAF posted pictures of the arms that it had confiscated, not enough to field a neighborhood militia.
In its social media posts, the LAF went farther by depicting Israel not as a partner in disarming Hezbollah but as an aggressor that was prompting the LAF to deploy reinforcements to contain the Israeli “aggression on Lebanon.”
Five weeks after Lebanon promised to enforce the 1701 mechanism, the LAF has yet to bust a single Hezbollah arms depot. Even a busload of explosive drones that Lebanese civilians had wrestled from Hezbollah’s fighters during the war and handed over to Lebanese authorities was released back to the Iran-backed militia by order from a pro-Hezbollah judge.
Not only did the state of Lebanon and its army fail to find a single Hezbollah handgun, the militia carried on with its efforts of rearmament – forcing the IDF to strike Hezbollah assets on more than one occasion. Israel warned that war might resume if Lebanon failed to disarm the Iran-backed militia as agreed upon in the ceasefire deal.
Reasons behind Lebanon’s unwillingness or inability to disarm Hezbollah are many.
First are the political ambitions of presidential hopefuls like Aoun. Election requires two thirds of lawmakers, and that is impossible without the Hezbollah-led parliamentary bloc.
Second is Hezbollah’s bullying of Lebanese politicians and the general population. Wafiq Safa, Hezbollah’s fearsome tsar of Lebanese domestic affairs, emerged as the only survivor from the militia’s top echelons. Safa had cut his teeth on bullying opponents and twisting arms. His presence continues to be felt.
Third is the utter incompetence of Hezbollah’s opponents. Even though the parliament has a solid bloc of 31 (out of 128 lawmakers) that calls for the militia’s disarmament, the opposition has failed to expand its ranks or to pose any serious political threat to Safa or his militia.
Fourth is the failure of world capitals to agree on a coherent strategy. These capitals also disagree over who should be elected president. France has $30 billion worth of contracts with Iran that it hopes to see revived one day and has thus emerged as an ally of Hezbollah.
America’s “de-escalation” band-aid policy, under which it has endorsed the appeasing Aoun as its candidate for president, has undermined Saudi Arabia’s support for Lebanese Forces Party chief Samir Geagea, the most serious anti-militia candidate and one who has survived a Hezbollah attempt on his life.
Lebanon has yet to understand that Israel is dead serious about disarming Hezbollah, and that the Jewish state is not in the mood for pretend games. Unless Beirut understands this, its policy risks reigniting the deadly and devastating war.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD). Follow him on X @hahussain
Jerusalem Post: "Lebanon's parliament elects army chief Joseph Aoun as president, Aoun kept Lebanon's army out of the war that raged between Israel and Hezbollah for over a year."
Naharnet: "The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad announced Thursday that Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement protected “national consensus” by choosing to vote for President Joseph Aoun -"
Naharnet: "The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad announced Thursday that Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement protected “national consensus” by choosing to vote for President Joseph Aoun -"
Persian Gulf
INT'L MOD
- Thread starter
- #1,779
Zionist Nazis continue to destroy empty homes in south Lebanon
Liquidator
Trusted Member
Lebanon is not serious about disarming Hezbollah
Topping the list of reasons for lack of Lebanese interest, all presidential hopefuls need Hezbollah votes
by Hussain Abdul-Hussain
January 4, 2025
A Hezbollah arsenal that Israel Defense Forces have confiscated. IDF controls up to 5 miles within Lebanon. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Armed Forces are not even remotely pulling their weight. Photo: IDF via X
Lebanon is not serious about enforcing the UNSC Resolution 1701 mechanism agreement that it signed with Israel on November 27 and that ended 14 months of war.
Before the ceasefire, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) watched Hezbollah hollow out 1701. The military justified its idleness by blaming the executive power for not issuing orders. After Lebanon’s caretaker cabinet endorsed the deal, LAF continued to drag its feet, for no obvious reason other than the political ambitions of its chief, presidential hopeful Joseph Aoun.
US Envoy Amos Hochstein is scheduled to visit Beirut on Monday to discuss Lebanese failure in meeting deadlines set by the ceasefire’s timetable.
Hezbollah now seems to have a new tactic. Instead of boasting about its capabilities in warring with Israel, the Iran-backed militia has instructed caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to pretend that Lebanon has lived up to its part of the deal, and that it is now incumbent on the Jewish state to stop its “violations” and accelerate its withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
What Mikati called violations were in fact Israel enforcing 1701 by striking Hezbollah’s rearmament shipments, an arrangement that Lebanon had signed on to. The deal also stipulated that the Israeli military would control up to five miles of Lebanese territory as long as Hezbollah maintains its ability to reconstitute. Israel promised to return the no-man’s land when the LAF has disarmed Hezbollah and neutralized its threat.
From the sliver of Lebanese territory that Israel controls, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dug up Hezbollah arms caches, confiscating 85,000 items, including missiles, rockets and launchers, enough to arm a mid-size army.
Meanwhile, Mikati and Aoun visited the southern town of Marjaayoun, signaling that the state had now restored its sovereignty south of River Litani. But the Lebanese state and its army have yet to show a single bullet that they have confiscated from Hezbollah.
Unlike the IDF, the Lebanese army busted rings of narcotics trade and petty crime. The LAF posted pictures of the arms that it had confiscated, not enough to field a neighborhood militia.
Arms that Lebanon Armed Forces confiscated. Photo: LAF via X
In its social media posts, the LAF went farther by depicting Israel not as a partner in disarming Hezbollah but as an aggressor that was prompting the LAF to deploy reinforcements to contain the Israeli “aggression on Lebanon.”
Five weeks after Lebanon promised to enforce the 1701 mechanism, the LAF has yet to bust a single Hezbollah arms depot. Even a busload of explosive drones that Lebanese civilians had wrestled from Hezbollah’s fighters during the war and handed over to Lebanese authorities was released back to the Iran-backed militia by order from a pro-Hezbollah judge.
Israeli troops with the 769th Hiram Regional Brigade operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued on December 31, 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces
Not only did the state of Lebanon and its army fail to find a single Hezbollah handgun, the militia carried on with its efforts of rearmament – forcing the IDF to strike Hezbollah assets on more than one occasion. Israel warned that war might resume if Lebanon failed to disarm the Iran-backed militia as agreed upon in the ceasefire deal.
Reasons behind Lebanon’s unwillingness or inability to disarm Hezbollah are many.
First are the political ambitions of presidential hopefuls like Aoun. Election requires two thirds of lawmakers, and that is impossible without the Hezbollah-led parliamentary bloc.
Second is Hezbollah’s bullying of Lebanese politicians and the general population. Wafiq Safa, Hezbollah’s fearsome tsar of Lebanese domestic affairs, emerged as the only survivor from the militia’s top echelons. Safa had cut his teeth on bullying opponents and twisting arms. His presence continues to be felt.
Third is the utter incompetence of Hezbollah’s opponents. Even though the parliament has a solid bloc of 31 (out of 128 lawmakers) that calls for the militia’s disarmament, the opposition has failed to expand its ranks or to pose any serious political threat to Safa or his militia.
Fourth is the failure of world capitals to agree on a coherent strategy. These capitals also disagree over who should be elected president. France has $30 billion worth of contracts with Iran that it hopes to see revived one day and has thus emerged as an ally of Hezbollah.
America’s “de-escalation” band-aid policy, under which it has endorsed the appeasing Aoun as its candidate for president, has undermined Saudi Arabia’s support for Lebanese Forces Party chief Samir Geagea, the most serious anti-militia candidate and one who has survived a Hezbollah attempt on his life.
Lebanon has yet to understand that Israel is dead serious about disarming Hezbollah, and that the Jewish state is not in the mood for pretend games. Unless Beirut understands this, its policy risks reigniting the deadly and devastating war.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD). Follow him on X @hahussain
Why should hezbollah be disarmed?
They are fighting Jewish Nazi pedophile sodomites
Weakening of Hezbollah allowed Lebanon to fill vacant presidency
by Naharnet Newsdesk 32 minutes ago
The weakening of Hezbollah in last year's war with Israel allowed Lebanon's long deadlocked parliament to reach consensus around a president who has the confidence of the international community.
Army chief Joseph Aoun, who was elected on Thursday ending a more than two-year vacancy, signaled a readjustment of Lebanon's foreign policy as the country works with international creditors to forge a way out of six years of deepening financial crisis.
Deadlock in parliament between pro- and anti-Hezbollah blocs had stalemated a dozen previous attempts to elect a president, leaving the country largely rudderless in its efforts to secure an emergency bailout.
But two months of full-fledged war with Israel last fall dealt heavy blows to the Iran-backed group, with its longtime leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah killed in a September Israeli airstrike.
Hezbollah also lost a strategic ally last month when Islamist-led rebels ousted longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Hezbollah's "political defeat follows its devastating military defeat," said Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut.
Lina Khatib, of Britain's Chatham House think tank, said it was "the first time since the end of the Lebanese civil war (in 1990) that a Lebanese president is elected without prior approval by Iran and by the ousted Syrian regime."
"Hezbollah's acceptance of Aoun's election underlines that it no longer dictates the political agenda," she told AFP.
"The significant shift in the political status quo... is the direct result of the larger geopolitical changes in the Middle East in which Iran's influence in the region is ending."
- Foreign backing -
The United States, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt had all lobbied heavily for the election of Aoun to fill the presidential vacancy.
"The role of the quintet was decisive, particularly the last-minute support of Saudi Arabia," a French diplomatic source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The kingdom had appeared to lose interest in Lebanon in recent years as the influence of Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsor grew.
Aoun committed to "a policy of positive neutrality" and better relations with Arab countries in his inaugural speech.
He also pledged a state monopoly on bearing arms, signaling difficult discussions on disarming Hezbollah, which kept its weapons after the civil war ended in 1990 to fight Israel's occupation of the south, which largely ended with a 2000 withdrawal.
A source close to Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told AFP that the two parties only voted for Aoun after obtaining reassurances on the reinforcement of the ceasefire with Israel "and the name of the next army chief."
- 'Right leader for this time' -
In the first round of voting on Thursday, Aoun failed to secure the required two-thirds majority, but after meeting with representatives of Hezbollah and Amal, he achieved that in the second round with 99 of the 128 votes cast.
Analysts say the army's central role in implementing the November 27 ceasefire was a key factor in Aoun's rise to the presidency.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Aoun was "the right leader for this time" and would provide "critical leadership" in overseeing the truce.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the army is deploying in the south as Israeli troops withdraw.
Hezbollah is required to dismantle its remaining military infrastructure in the area and pull its forces back north of the Litani River, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border.
Khashan said it was now down to Aoun with his military background to persuade Hezbollah to lay down its remaining weapons.
"Only a president hailing from the army can disarm Hezbollah, especially after Israel destroyed more than 80 percent of its military hardware," he said.
At this stage, "Hezbollah has no option but to transform itself into a political party without a military component."
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that the state will begin disarming southern Lebanon, particularly the south Litani region, to establish its presence across the country.
“We are in a new phase - in this new phase, we will start with south Lebanon and south Litani specifically in order to pull weapons so that the state can be present across Lebanese territory,” Mikati said.
On November 27, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a US-brokered 60-day ceasefire that calls for a phased Israeli military pullout after more than a year of war, in keeping with a 2006 UN Security Council resolution that ended the their last major conflict.
Under the agreement, Hezbollah fighters must leave positions in south Lebanon and move north of the Litani River, which runs about 20 miles (30 km) north of the border with Israel, along with a full Israeli withdrawal from the south.
Under the terms of its truce with Hezbollah, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from south Lebanon but neither side can launch offensive operations.
The ceasefire marked the end of the deadliest confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah since their six-week war in 2006.
Al Arabiya
“We are in a new phase - in this new phase, we will start with south Lebanon and south Litani specifically in order to pull weapons so that the state can be present across Lebanese territory,” Mikati said.
On November 27, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a US-brokered 60-day ceasefire that calls for a phased Israeli military pullout after more than a year of war, in keeping with a 2006 UN Security Council resolution that ended the their last major conflict.
Under the agreement, Hezbollah fighters must leave positions in south Lebanon and move north of the Litani River, which runs about 20 miles (30 km) north of the border with Israel, along with a full Israeli withdrawal from the south.
Under the terms of its truce with Hezbollah, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from south Lebanon but neither side can launch offensive operations.
The ceasefire marked the end of the deadliest confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah since their six-week war in 2006.
Al Arabiya
bengalcdn
Registered Member
Nice copium articles Solomon the Zionists. Hezbollah was regularly targeting tel aviv with drones and missiles till the ceasefire. I doubt president aoun or anyone else will do anything
Persian Gulf
INT'L MOD
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- #1,784
Israel continues to kill Lebanese people in south Lebanon
Kyussis
Trusted Member
Thanks to the Lebenese government!
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