Lebanese president urges US, France to pressure Israel amid push to disarm Hezbollah
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday urged the United States and France to pressure Israel to halt its attacks on Lebanon as the Lebanese army begins rolling out a security plan to disarm Hezbollah and other armed groups.
His statements came during a meeting with French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian who arrived in Beirut from Saudi Arabia for talks with senior Lebanese officials on the country’s plan to disarm Hezbollah amid escalated Israeli attacks. The meeting also comes as France prepares to host two international aid conferences to support Lebanon’s army and economic reconstruction efforts.
In a statement, Aoun affirmed that the security plan that the Lebanese army has started implementing south of the Litani region to restrict weapons to the state aims to remove all armed groups from the Lebanese and Palestinian sides.
“However, the ongoing Israeli occupation of several Lebanese territories and its refusal to respond to international calls to stop its attacks are preventing the army from completing its deployment up to the international borders,” he added.
