Top US envoy Tom Barrack and Deputy United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus are expected to arrive in Lebanon on Monday following a visit to Israel.
Barrack met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss Syria and Lebanon, three Israeli officials said.
The meeting was first reported by Axios, citing three Israeli and US sources, and followed discussions between Barrack and Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Discussions focused on Washington's request that Israel limit its strikes on Lebanon. They also tackled negotiations with Syria, said the sources according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, negotiations between the president and Hezbollah have not made any progress over the Iran-backed party laying down its weapons following the government's decision earlier this month to impose state monopoly over arms, revealed informed sources.
They told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hezbollah will not respond to any initiative before Israel's positions become clear.
They reiterated statements by senior Lebanese officials to the Americans that now that the Lebanese state has taken a decision towards limiting the possession of weapons, Israel must do something in return, starting with stopping its daily violations against Lebanon.
Hezbollah will base its position according to whether Israel shows any form of leniency or if it takes a hard line, they explained.
Barrack and Oratgus are set to kick off their meetings with Lebanese officials on Tuesday.
They were in Lebanon last week during which Barrack said that Israel should comply with a plan under which Hezbollah would be disarmed by the end of the year in exchange for a halt to Israel's military operations in Lebanon.
The plan sets out a phased roadmap for armed groups to hand in their arsenals as Israel's military halts ground, air and sea operations and withdraws troops from Lebanon's south.
Hezbollah has refused to disarm, and Barrack said it was now Israel's turn to cooperate.
Commenting on Barrack's upcoming visit, Hezbollah MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan said: “The envoy returns to Lebanon with answers from the Israeli enemy to the government plan. We know that the US is the source of terrorism in the world and that Israel is its top pawn in carrying it out.”
Those calling for Hezbollah's disarmament or for monopoly over arms “are surrendering to the demands of the enemy and American dictates,” he charged.
He acknowledged that the Lebanese government's policy statement had spoken about sovereignty, deterring Israel, the return of the detainees, reconstruction, and monopoly over arms and decisions of war and peace, “but so far, we have only heard it speak about the monopoly over arms.”
“Is the monopoly Lebanon's only problem? What about the Israeli attacks? What about reconstruction and return of Lebanese detainees from Israeli jails?” he asked.
Moreover, the MP claimed that the government's decision over weapons was a “violation of coexistence. It has disregarded the constitution that defends coexistence. There can be no legitimacy to an authority that contradicts coexistence.”
“We will continue to work towards a Lebanon that belongs to all the Lebanese, not just a segment of them. Most importantly, the resistance and its weapons are central issues that we will defend with all our might,” he vowed.
On the other end of the divide, MP Ashraf Rifi, a vocal Hezbollah critic, stressed that “there can be no state with two sets of weapons. The state can only have one legitimate national army that protects the nation and its sovereignty.”
“Hezbollah's refusal to lay down its weapons is no longer a political issue, but a frank coup against the state,” he warned.
“The Lebanese people are now afraid of the deceit of this party and its weapons,” he added on the 12th anniversary of the bombing of the al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques in the northern city of Tripoli.
“By refusing to disarm, Hezbollah has only brought tragedies to Lebanon. It is bluntly declaring that it is above the state and law. Its secretary general even openly threatened the Lebanese people by unashamedly saying 'there can be no life in Lebanon' if the army carries out the government's decision.”
“What kind of reasoning is this? Who says this to an entire population? It is as if he is saying 'either you succumb to our weapons, or we raze the country to the ground',” Rifi remarked.
He hailed the “steadfastness and courage” of President Joseph Aoun in confronting the challenges. “We all stand behind him and support the historic decisions taken by the prime minister and government related to monopoly over weapons.”
