BEIRUT: Hezbollah welcomes any effort to stop the war in Lebanon but does not pin its hopes for a ceasefire on a particular US administration, Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Al-Moussawi said on Thursday when asked about Donald Trump’s election victory.
“It might be a change in the party who is in power, but when it comes to Israel, they have more or less the same policy,” Moussawi told Reuters.
“We want to see actions, we want to see decisions taken,” he said. Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have exchanged fire for more than a year, in parallel with the Gaza war, but fighting has escalated since late September, with Israeli troops intensifying bombing of Lebanon’s south and east and making ground incursions into border villages.
Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and military assets, while avoiding civilians. Hezbollah and Lebanese officials point to the rising death toll, with more than 3,000 killed, and widespread destruction in the country as evidence that Israel is targeting civilians. US diplomatic efforts to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which included a 60-day ceasefire proposal, faltered last week ahead of the US election on Tuesday in which former President Donald Trump recaptured the White House.
Moussawi acknowledged the heavy toll of Israeli attacks that have blown apart thousands of buildings, mostly in Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim-dominated south and east and Beirut’s southern suburbs, but said the group’s military capabilities remained strong.
“Our hearts are broken — we are losing very dear lives. This feeling that cannot be punished or brought to international justice is a result of USsupport which renders them immune to accountability,” he said.
“America is a full partner in what’s happening because they can exercise influence to stop this destruction.”
Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-American billionaire who is the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter, Tiffany, said he would be in charge of negotiating with the Lebanese side to reach an agreement to end the war, Lebanese broadcaster Al Jadeed quoted him as saying this week.
He also said that Trump was aiming to end the war before he took office in January, Al Jadeed reported. Reuters could not immediately reach Boulos.
The Israeli government celebrated Trump’s return to power, saying he was a leader who would support them “unconditionally.”
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Overnight on Wednesday, Israel carried out a series of strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, including at least one strike just tens of meters from Beirut airport’s runways.
Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamiye said the airport was functioning normally on Thursday.
Hezbollah calls for US action, not words, as Trump reclaims White House
https://arab.news/9cu25
Hezbollah calls for US action, not words, as Trump reclaims White House
- “It might be a change in the party who is in power, but when it comes to Israel, they have more or less the same policy,” Moussawi told Reuters
- “We want to see actions, we want to see decisions taken”
Saudi Arabia increasingly concerned by Israel’s impact on regional instability: Experts
- Middle East Institute hosts panel discussion attended by Arab News
CHICAGO: Experts on Wednesday noted Saudi Arabia’s increased concern over Israel’s regional conduct during a panel discussion hosted by the Middle East Institute and attended by Arab News.
F. Gregory Gause III, professor emeritus of international affairs at the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University, said Israel rather than Iran has become the more immediate worry for the Kingdom.
“I think there’s a real worry that post-Oct. 7 it’s the Israelis, not the Iranians, who might be the fomenters of instability in Syria, in Lebanon, even with the attack on Doha,” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s priority is achieving “stability in the region,” and it believes that closer relations with the US can achieve that, he added.
Former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney said the Kingdom’s concerns have pushed it to seek closer ties to the US through President Donald Trump, who has been more responsive than his predecessor Joe Biden.
During his recent visit to Washington, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “got everything he wanted” for Saudi Arabia’s interests, Ratney said, adding that his priority is to make the Kingdom a lynchpin of regional stability.
The Saudis “are more positive about the relationship with the US than I think a lot of people here realize,” Ratney said. “They genuinely want their entire strategic outlook anchored in the US.”
Dr. Karen E. Young, a senior MEI fellow, said the Saudis have a growing concern for how regional instability impacts their economic advances under the Vision 2030 reform plan.
“Certainly there’s concern for the neighborhood, but in new ways and more geared toward what instability in the region means for economic development, tourism, logistics, trade and even connectivity, whether it’s in trading and selling electricity or perhaps in the transfer of data,” she added. “So they need calm, and that means on both sides of the Red Sea.”
