Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that a peace deal between Israel and Lebanon is not impossible, but will be an arduous task.
“I think a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel is eminently achievable and should be,” Mr. Rubio said during a White House press briefing. “The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon, it’s Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah, a terrorist group that is heavily backed by Iran, has an independent military force operating inside Lebanon. The group also participated in electoral politics in Lebanon and is a major force in the Lebanese parliament.
“This has been going on for a very long time,” Mr. Rubio said. “What is our hope? Our hope is to engage the Lebanese and Israeli governments under our mediation at the table to achieve this, and that is having Lebanese armed forces and a Lebanese government, not just with a willingness, but with the capability to begin to challenge Hezbollah and disarm them.”
Israel and Lebanon announced last month that they extended their ceasefire by three weeks following a meeting with President Trump and U.S. officials. The White House has expressed hope that the ceasefire leads to a broader peace agreement between the two countries, which have officially been at war since 1948.
An earlier ceasefire that was in place was violated multiple times by both sides.
Since the announcement of a ceasefire extension, talks between the leaders of Israel and Lebanon have not materialized.
Still, Mr. Rubio insisted the U.S. was “very committed to this process.”
“It’s not going to be easy,” he said, adding, “This has been going on for a very long time.’
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that both sides continue to talk so that progress can be made on some sort of permanent ceasefire that isn’t constantly spoiled by Hezbollah and by Hezbollah violence,” Mr. Rubio said.
The current war began when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel just days after the Jewish state partnered with the U.S. to launch attacks on Iran. Israel responded with a bombardment of Lebanon and a ground invasion, capturing scores of towns and villages along the border.
