Lebanon plants flag in Zawtar Al-Gharbiyeh as Hezbollah questions next steps

BEIRUT: Hezbollah on Wednesday questioned the Lebanese state’s next steps after the deployment of the Lebanese army to Zawtar Al-Gharbiyeh, part of a pilot initiative linked to the US-brokered framework for an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The move came a day after the unprecedented summit in Washington between President Joseph Aoun and US President Donald Trump, which Lebanese officials say opened a new phase in efforts to implement the agreement. Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan said the summit had delivered “American promises without guarantees,” adding that Israeli forces were not present in the center of Zawtar Al-Gharbiyeh but on its outskirts. “There will be no dialogue with those who attack us, destroy our land and homes, and kill our people,” he said, responding to Trump’s remarks about possible engagement with Hezbollah. <div class=media_embed> <script height=472px src=https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/AIhKx8yM-d6i0yyUg.js width=600px></script></div> But Hajj Hassan stopped short of criticizing the Lebanese army, stressing “ongoing cooperation and trust between the party and the military institution.” He also rejected any attempt to block Iranian funding for reconstruction, saying it would “be difficult to cut Hezbollah off from its support base,” Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the real test after the Washington meeting was whether the ceasefire would hold and whether Israel would complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Aoun, speaking at a dinner at the Lebanese embassy in Washington attended by members of Congress and US administration officials, said Lebanon had chosen to restore its regional and international ties and to reposition itself as a sovereign state. The Lebanese state has made a deliberate choice to restore Lebanon’s relations in the region and the world, and to reposition Lebanon where it belongs, not as an arena for others' agendas, but as a sovereign state that rejects interference from any party in any form.” He said Hezbollah was not “a foreign mercenary force” but made up of Lebanese citizens shaped over four decades through ideological, social and military investment, creating an armed force operating outside the authority of the state. <div class=media_embed> <script height=472px src=https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/X9tOKpOI-d6i0yyUg.js width=600px></script></div> He outlined a gradual approach that begins with addressing the Israeli occupation, continues with the Lebanese Army assuming full control over security, and ends with reconstruction and economic recovery led by the state. “The Lebanese state must be the sole authority exercising control over its territory, securing its borders, and deciding on war and peace,” Aoun said. “This is the path that I have chosen.” On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam underscored the restoration of state authority by raising the Lebanese flag in the town square of Zawtar Al-Gharbiyah, where the Lebanese army continued its deployment for the second day. Residents have not been permitted to return until unexploded rockets have been cleared. Defense Minister Michel Menassa also visited the town, while Army Commander Rodolphe Haykal inspected the area. Salam said the government would “continue mobilizing all our political and diplomatic efforts to secure a complete withdrawal from all Lebanese territory.” He said the state had begun mobilizing resources to facilitate the return of residents, including reopening roads, clearing rubble and restoring basic services. “The return of our people to their land is the truest expression of Lebanon’s unity and sovereignty,” Salam said. Retired Brig. Gen. Bassam Yassin said the deployment in Zawtar Al-Gharbiyeh was only the first phase and that a second, decisive stage would be needed to secure withdrawals from other occupied towns on a fixed timetable. “The real test lies in implementation and whether residents will be allowed to return to their villages, how the army’s success in Zawtar Al-Gharbiyah will be verified, and whether the monitoring committee will carry out its work impartially,” he said. He added that Israel was unlikely to withdraw without major US pressure. He added: “If the withdrawal does take place, it will benefit everyone and allow the Lebanese army to deploy and carry out its normal duties.”

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