Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met yesterday in Washington, DC, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in order to secure two initial actions promised in the June 26 ‘agreement’ arranged by Washington with Israel—that Israel withdraw from at least one ‘pilot zone’ site that they occupy in Lebanon; and that concrete steps be taken on the promise of U.S. investment into Lebanon. After the meeting, Aoun’s office posted that they discussed:
a) “The necessity for the Lebanese position to align with the U.S. position regarding the implementation of the tripartite framework through achieving the first Israeli withdrawal from the first model area,” and
b) “The necessity to strengthen U.S. support for the Lebanese army and Lebanese military institutions, and to take the necessary steps to institutionalize U.S. interest in Lebanon on the economic and investment levels across various sectors, especially energy, communications, and transportation.”
Rubio was less specific: “We discussed implementing the Trilateral Framework.”
Today, the U.S. State Department announced “pilot zone operations began in the villages of Froun, Srifa, and Zawtar Al-Gharbiya in accordance with the Trilateral Framework and under the auspices of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon. This milestone is a direct outcome of last week’s discussions between Israel and Lebanon in Rome.”
This sounds like three pilot zones initiated—actually one more than what Israel had signed up for, because both Froun and Srifa were not occupied by Israel. Yet for Israel to withdraw from even one token site—Zawtar Al-Gharbiya—one on the edge of the territory that Israel’s military is actually occupying in Lebanon, will be counted a victory by some who desperately are in need of a token.
Aoun is scheduled to meet with President Trump on Tuesday, where he is to present him, according to Reuters, “with a written proposal outlining how Hezbollah’s arsenal could be dismantled while securing Israel’s withdrawal under the US-brokered agreement. Reuters also reported that Aoun, before departing Beirut, had said that he would urge Trump to “exert the necessary pressure on Israel” to implement the agreement.
