Under the new Lebanese leadership, the Lebanese Army has expanded its activities against militias operating from Lebanon against Israel, as part of implementing the ceasefire agreement and responding to US pressure. The army has launched operations to prevent rocket fire and to confiscate weapons and ammunition from armed groups in Lebanon. However, it is evident that it finds it easier to act against Palestinian factions and weaker forces rather than confront the real problem—Hezbollah’s arsenal.
As part of these efforts, on April 20, the Lebanese Army located a stockpile of rockets and launchers in an apartment in the village of Zahrani, near Sidon. It announced that it had thwarted a rocket attack against Israel, earning praise from Prime Minister Salam and President Aoun. An examination of the findings and their location suggests that the cache belonged to Palestinian factions in the Sidon area and was not a major Hezbollah arms depot. Reviewing similar operations publicized by the army in recent months reveals a pattern: The army prefers to carry out confiscation missions in Palestinian refugee camps, outposts of al-Jama‘a al-Islamiyya in eastern Lebanon, and among smugglers and criminal gangs, where heavy weapons such as rockets, launchers, and mortars have recently been seized.
US Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, made it clear that American assistance to Lebanon is conditional upon vigorous action to disarm all militias across Lebanon, including Hezbollah, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement. President Aoun and Prime Minister Salam also declared that the army must disarm Hezbollah. The American conditions and government pressure have placed the Lebanese Army under an almost impossible burden to prove that it can dismantle militias, a task it struggles to fulfill against Hezbollah. Consequently, it is easier for the army to demonstrate success by acting against weaker Palestinian factions and against criminal gangs and smugglers on the Syrian–Lebanese border.
Given the Lebanese Army’s difficulty in confronting Hezbollah directly, Israel should engage in dialogue with the Americans to reconsider the conditioning of US aid to the Lebanese Army on Hezbollah’s disarmament. The army needs this aid to organize, recruit personnel and resources, and to counteract Qatar’s growing influence, as Qatar has already pledged continued support for the Lebanese Army.
Under the new Lebanese leadership, the Lebanese Army has expanded its activities against militias operating from Lebanon against Israel, as part of implementing the ceasefire agreement and responding to US pressure. The army has launched operations to prevent rocket fire and to confiscate weapons and ammunition from armed groups in Lebanon. However, it is evident that it finds it easier to act against Palestinian factions and weaker forces rather than confront the real problem—Hezbollah’s arsenal.
As part of these efforts, on April 20, the Lebanese Army located a stockpile of rockets and launchers in an apartment in the village of Zahrani, near Sidon. It announced that it had thwarted a rocket attack against Israel, earning praise from Prime Minister Salam and President Aoun. An examination of the findings and their location suggests that the cache belonged to Palestinian factions in the Sidon area and was not a major Hezbollah arms depot. Reviewing similar operations publicized by the army in recent months reveals a pattern: The army prefers to carry out confiscation missions in Palestinian refugee camps, outposts of al-Jama‘a al-Islamiyya in eastern Lebanon, and among smugglers and criminal gangs, where heavy weapons such as rockets, launchers, and mortars have recently been seized.
US Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, made it clear that American assistance to Lebanon is conditional upon vigorous action to disarm all militias across Lebanon, including Hezbollah, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement. President Aoun and Prime Minister Salam also declared that the army must disarm Hezbollah. The American conditions and government pressure have placed the Lebanese Army under an almost impossible burden to prove that it can dismantle militias, a task it struggles to fulfill against Hezbollah. Consequently, it is easier for the army to demonstrate success by acting against weaker Palestinian factions and against criminal gangs and smugglers on the Syrian–Lebanese border.
Given the Lebanese Army’s difficulty in confronting Hezbollah directly, Israel should engage in dialogue with the Americans to reconsider the conditioning of US aid to the Lebanese Army on Hezbollah’s disarmament. The army needs this aid to organize, recruit personnel and resources, and to counteract Qatar’s growing influence, as Qatar has already pledged continued support for the Lebanese Army.