Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Relationship of Trust between US, Lebanese Army

Army Chief General Joseph Aoun received at his office in Yarze the commander of the US Central Command General Joseph Votel
Army Chief General Joseph Aoun received at his office in Yarze the commander of the US Central Command General Joseph Votel
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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: Relationship of Trust between US, Lebanese Army

Army Chief General Joseph Aoun received at his office in Yarze the commander of the US Central Command General Joseph Votel
Army Chief General Joseph Aoun received at his office in Yarze the commander of the US Central Command General Joseph Votel

The US raised the level of its military assistance to Lebanon, saying on Wednesday that it was providing it with six MD 530G light attack helicopters, six Scan Eagle drones, and communication and night vision equipment.

Sources said that the visit of Commander of the US Central Command (Centcom) General Joseph Votel to Lebanon’s Army chief General Joseph Aoun on Wednesday is the third since Aoun assumed power this year.

“A relationship of trust has been built between Washington and the Lebanese military institution, including Aoun. Such trust enhances Washington’s enthusiasm to increase its military assistance to the army,” the sources said.

Hisham Jaber, the head of the Middle East Center for Studies and Public Relations, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday that the new package is the largest US military assistance offered in a single batch to Lebanon in decades.

He said the assistance would enhance the capabilities of the Lebanese military to protect the border and fight terrorism.

“Lebanon’s aerial defensive capacities lack any attack helicopters,” he said.

Jaber, who is a retired Lebanese general, said that MD 530G helicopters would constitute a supplement to the mission of the Super Tucano that Washington had offered to Lebanon. 

“Those helicopters will match the mission of the ground forces by supporting them with gunfire,” he said.

After visiting Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday with Votel, US Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard said: “We had an excellent conversation about the challenges facing Lebanon and the region. We also talked about how the US and the broader international community can support Lebanon in these challenging times.”

Richard and Votel also discussed with the Prime Minister and earlier with the Army Commander, three new US Department of Defense programs valued at more than $120 million.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.