Earlier this month, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in consultation with the Speaker of Parliament and Prime Minister, appointed Simon Karam as head of the Lebanese delegation participating in the so-called Mechanism, the five-party committee that was expanded to monitor and discuss implementation of the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon last year.
Mr Karam’s appointment was significant because he is a civilian (as well as a former ambassador to the US), whereas the Lebanese delegation participating in the Mechanism had been made up exclusively of military officers. Equally important, he was tasked with leading the delegation, whereas previously Lebanon’s position had been that civilians would be added to the negotiations only as technical advisers.
The change in the Lebanese position came after the US envoy, Morgan Ortagus, in late October asked Lebanon to expand its delegation to include civilians. Beirut was hard-pressed to push back against US demands, because its resources are limited and only Washington can really curtail Israeli military actions in Lebanon. The Israelis recently escalated their nation-wide air strikes against alleged Hezbollah targets.
It is clear that the US objective is to lock Lebanon into negotiations with Israel that lead to a normalisation of their relations.
Continue Reading on The National UAE
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.