We negotiated with Hezbollah, not with Lebanon!
The Israeli “Meda” website said that “any agreement with Lebanon mediated by America, under the current political circumstances, will be a gain for the Lebanese Hezbollah, will harm Israel’s security, and will be a reward for Iran.”
The site added in an analysis under the title “These are not negotiations with Lebanon…they are negotiations with Hezbollah,” that the American mediator Amos Hochstein visited Lebanon last week, almost a year after the success of his mission to sign an agreement between Lebanon and Israel regarding the maritime borders, a few days before The Israeli elections, and also a few days before the end of the term of then Lebanese President Michel Aoun.
Before leaving for the United States, Hockstein made a short statement to the media at Beirut airport, in which he thanked his hosts, and also spoke of his disappointment with the pace of progress of reforms in Lebanon. He had to catch his flight, so he was able to take one question. He was asked: “Did you see the possibility of mediating between Israel and Lebanon regarding the demarcation of the land borders?” He quickly explained the American point of view, which stipulates stability, security, and prevention of friction, considering that what succeeded in the maritime border file could be repeated.
According to the Media website, Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement party, announced that he might agree to support Hezbollah’s preferred candidate for president, Suleiman Franjieh, in exchange for “reforms” that include establishing a trust fund and decentralizing the authority of the central government.
It added, “It is certain that Bassil’s language of reforms will reassure many in the West, who wish to continue the ‘campaign of self-deception’ and deal with the words of senior Lebanese officials. According to the Americans , Bassil was biased towards Hezbollah while he worked as a minister in the government, and that The actions he takes with Hezbollah have a clear meaning, which is that “Hezbollah will collect all the money.”
The website indicates that in this way, Hezbollah will be able to effectively control everything it deems important, billions will continue to flow, and ministers, sect leaders, and partners at various levels will continue to raise benefit at the expense of the public, which will continue to receive crumbs.
It continued, “The Lebanese army will continue to be funded by the United States. The Lebanese president will announce reforms and appoint a new governor of the Central Bank. The trust fund will be opened again. Reforms will move lazily one step forward and two steps back.
According to the site, in the way Lebanese politics is managed, it is not unlikely that Gebran Bassil himself will be appointed to supervise the trust fund into which the gas money will be poured, and everyone will be satisfied, from Hockstein to Hassan Nasrallah.
Addressing the possibility of a negotiation over land demarcation , the site concluded that the negotiations in Lebanon are nothing but negotiations with Hezbollah, and that the interests of the United States and France are not compatible with the interests of Israel, and as long as the situation in Lebanon is that a branch of Iran is running things, any gain for Hezbollah means harming Israel’s power and eroding its deterrence. Its freedom of action is a reward for Iran.
It added“Therefore, Israel must categorically reject any such attempt. Negotiations on the land borders with Lebanon will occur one day, when Lebanon is liberated from the grip of the armed organization that controlled it, and has set itself the goal of destroying Israel, or at least allowing Iran to “With that.”
Translated from an article in. Arabic by Lebanon Debate
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