Netanyahu Holds Security Talks After Donald Trump Urges Syria To Fight Hezbollah In Lebanon

US President Donald Trump told Israel to let Syria take on Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Israeli government convened security discussions over a possible Syrian move into Lebanon.

In a statement carried by Ynetnews, Netanyahu convened a meeting to prepare for a scenario in which Damascus takes steps toward deploying forces inside Lebanon, while Trump told Fox News he was disappointed that Israel could not “put” Hezbollah away from the border.

Al Jazeera

The same Ynetnews report quotes Trump saying the Israeli military “can’t do anything without knocking buildings down,” and it adds that Trump was close to empowering Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa so Syrian forces could enter southern Lebanon and fight Hezbollah.

Al-Sharaa responded that Trump’s remarks were misinterpreted “as if Syria is about to invade Lebanon tomorrow morning,” and he said, “We have a deep problem with Hezbollah, but we do not want all of Lebanon to die.”

The Jerusalem Post reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to call for a Security Cabinet meeting on Wednesday regarding Syria in connection with Lebanon after Trump’s comments about handing over responsibility for Hezbollah to the Syrian regime of Ahmad al-Sharaa.

In the same report, an Israeli official told N12, “This is like tossing a match into a powder keg; we will get al-Qaeda and [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan on our northern border.”

Algerie Patriotique

The Jerusalem Post also quotes Sharaa denying that “his country sought to intervene militarily in Lebanon where Israel and Hezbollah are at war,” and it says he told Al Mashhad, “We are looking for economic channels between Lebanon and Syria, not military ones.”

Ynetnews adds that al-Sharaa said Syria would sit at the same table with Hezbollah if doing so served both Syrian and Lebanese interests, while also saying Hezbollah was undermining the Lebanese state’s authority over questions of war and peace.

Al Jazeera reports that residents in Damascus rejected Trump’s suggestion that Syria should confront Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying Syria should avoid being drawn into new regional conflicts.

The Al Jazeera piece frames Trump’s call as a rare critique in which he told Israel to let Syria take on Hezbollah, and it places the discussion in the context of Trump’s message to Israel about Hezbollah.

In the News.Az-syndicated account, Trump said he had spoken with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and informed Netanyahu that “Syria will now take care of the Hezbollah issue,” while Syrian spokesperson Ahmed Zeidan confirmed Washington discussions but stressed they did not involve military intervention.

That same account quotes al-Sharaa saying, “We want to solve the Hezbollah problem in order to ensure Lebanon's survival,” and it adds that he said Syria is ready to sit at the negotiating table if it benefits everyone.