Trump pledges Lebanon aid without setting Israeli pullout timetable
At the White House, Trump said the US would help Lebanon but gave no concrete plan for ending Israel’s presence in the south.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
President Donald Trump said the United States would support Lebanon during a White House meeting with President Joseph Aoun, but he did not announce a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The meeting underscored Washington’s role in a US-brokered Lebanon-Israel framework that links any Israeli pullback to efforts to disarm Hezbollah, according to Al Jazeera.
Speaking beside Aoun on Tuesday, Trump was asked whether Israel would leave Lebanon on a set schedule. “They’re in the process of doing that,” Trump said, adding that Israeli forces were redeploying to other areas.
Al Jazeera reported that Israel has not withdrawn from any area it has held since March. The outlet also reported that a first “pilot zone” announced Monday by the US State Department covered three towns that were not under Israeli control, meaning there was no Israeli pullback from those locations.
Under the framework described by Al Jazeera, pilot zones are meant to allow the Lebanese army to enter towns that had been occupied, keep out any Hezbollah military presence, start reconstruction and permit residents to return. The arrangement comes after months of Israeli attacks and ground operations in Lebanon.
Aoun praises US role
Aoun did not address Israeli abuses while standing with Trump, according to Al Jazeera. Instead, he thanked Trump and his team for what he called a historic visit and achievement, saying the framework’s ultimate aim was to end the state of hostility between Lebanon and Israel permanently.
Trump said Lebanon had been treated badly for decades, without specifying by whom. “We’re going to help it,” he said. “We’re going to help it a lot.” When a Lebanese reporter asked what specific support he would provide, Trump replied: “You’ll find out.”
Aoun asked for assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces, calling the military the backbone of Lebanon’s security and stability, according to Al Jazeera. He has argued that the Lebanese state must be the only armed authority in the country and has accused Hezbollah of pulling Lebanon into war on Iran’s behalf.
Hezbollah has criticised Aoun for engaging in direct talks with Israel and for accepting a framework under which Lebanon agreed not to pursue accountability for Israeli abuses at the United Nations or in international courts, Al Jazeera reported.
Trump raises Syria and Hezbollah contacts
Trump also repeated his idea that Syria could intervene militarily in Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, according to Al Jazeera. Syrian authorities have repeatedly rejected that proposal.
Trump praised Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and said al-Sharaa had fought Hezbollah for a long time. Hezbollah backed former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian civil war, while al-Sharaa was a rebel commander and early in the conflict led al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, Al Jazeera reported.
Trump also said he would be willing to speak directly with Hezbollah if Aoun wanted him to do so. “I speak to everybody,” Trump told reporters.
Al Jazeera reported that Israel has killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon since the wider regional war began earlier this year, including medics and journalists. The outlet also reported that Israeli forces have razed entire villages in southern Lebanon and that Israeli officials have openly described an objective of erasing Lebanese border towns.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.