WASHINGTON: 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 forge a path to peace with Israel.
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.”
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.”
The Lebanese president said the military was “the backbone of security and stability” and the country’s most trusted institution.
His 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 Hezbollah.
But in a sign of the fragility of the agreement, the Lebanese army said Israeli troops fired near its soldiers deploying in a “pilot zone” Israel is supposed to withdraw from.
Asked whether Washington would put additional pressure on Israel to withdraw, Trump said: “We’ll be looking at that.”
Lebanon says Israeli troops open fire near its army soldiers
Lebanon is under pressure to prove that it can and will disarm Hezbollah, which Israel has set as a precondition for ending its occupation in southern Lebanon.
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 in March.
The army said Tuesday it had begun deploying to one of three pilot zones, the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya. Israel’s military said it would be “adjusting its force posture” in one pilot area.
Also Read: Israeli Troops Open Fire Near Lebanese Army During Deployment in Southern ‘Pilot Zone’
Hours later, however, the Lebanese army said Israeli forces “opened fire in the vicinity of these units,” adding that the incident would hinder the deployment.
The Israel Defence 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.”
“The Lebanese Armed Forces personnel withdrew from the area, and no injuries were reported,” it added.
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 and disarm Hezbollah.
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.
