Trump Admin To Israel: Wind Down In Lebanon To Beat Hezbollah

The Trump administration has reportedly asked Israel to avoid any "non-urgent" military strikes against Hezbollah on Lebanese territory, in order to give the Lebanese government the breathing space and legitimacy it needs to disarm Hezbollah itself, according to a report today (Thursday) by Axios.

Lebanon has already begun disarming Palestinian terrorist factions within the country's borders, with the apparent consent of Abu Mazen, and the Lebanese government has approved a plan for disarming Hezbollah, which it says is non-negotiable and will not be revoked.

In order to ensure the Lebanese government appears to be doing the work of the Lebanese people and not acting on orders from Israel, the Trump administration has asked Israel to consider withdrawing from one of the five outposts it still occupies within Lebanese territory and to avoid any all "non-urgent" strikes in Lebanon (like the major strike against Hezbollah missiles yesterday) as a show of good faith and intention to carry out Israel's part of the deal.

Hezbollah has repeatedly refused to disarm despite the government's decision, and the Shiite members of the government walked out of the meeting when the decision was made, a sign of the powerful rift between Lebanon's Shiite community, which largely supports Hezbollah, and the other factions in the country, which broadly support the government's aim of disarming the terrorist group and maintaining a state monopoly of arms.