BEIRUT: Lebanon is awaiting the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid growing concern over Israel’s commitment to withdrawing from southern Lebanon.
The meeting comes a week after a US-Lebanon summit in Washington, during which Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that accelerating Israel’s withdrawal would remove Hezbollah’s justification for retaining its weapons.
A Lebanese official told Arab News that Washington had shown an understanding of Beirut’s position during the closed-door talks.
The official said Trump instructed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who attended the meeting, to contact Netanyahu and urge him to cooperate over the withdrawal in accordance with the framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel following negotiations in Washington in late June.
“The agreement must be implemented because it bears the signature of the United States,” the official said.
