No lasting peace between Israel and Lebanon without 'political and economic progress,' says US embassy

The Cease-Fire Monitoring Committee (known as the 'Mechanism') between Lebanon and Israel met in Naqoura on Friday for the second time in its new format, which includes civilian representatives from both countries, and focused particularly on the "economic priorities" for both countries, as well as issues of military "cooperation" and reconstruction, according to a statement released by the U.S. embassy following the discussions.

Strengthening the Lebanese Army

The committee, led by U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus which includes Israeli and Lebanese military and civilian representatives, a French military representative and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

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According to the statement from the embassy, this was the 15th meeting of the committee — but only the second to include civilian officials — held to "continue coordinated efforts to support stability and a lasting cessation of hostilities."

The statement differentiates between discussions by civilians and military participants, who "reviewed operations and focused on cooperation between armed forces to strengthen coordination." Regarding the military representatives, "all agreed that strengthening the Lebanese Army, guarantor of security in the sector south of the Litani, was essential to the success" of current operations.

Reconstruction and economic priorities

Meanwhile, the civilian participants in the Naqoura meeting — including Lebanese diplomat Simon Karam, Ortagus, and the deputy head of Israel's National Security Council, Yossi Dreznin, according to Israeli Channel 12 — discussed "conditions enabling inhabitants to safely return home, continued reconstruction, and responding to economic priorities."

According to the embassy, it was emphasized during the talks that "lasting political and economic progress is essential to reinforce security gains and maintain lasting peace."

All participants also stressed that security and political progress "reinforce one another" and are "essential to ensure the long-term stability and prosperity of both parties."

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The Naqoura meeting was held as a conference in support of the army and security forces was officially announced for the month of February, after a meeting Thursday in Paris attended by army commander Rodolph Haykal, Ortagus and Saudi envoy Yazid bin Farhan.

During that meeting, General Haykal presented the latest progress in the so-called "National Shield" plan, which provides for the complete disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani River by the end of the year. The spokesperson for the Quai d'Orsay, Pascal Confavreux, also mentioned "a consensus to seriously document" progress on disarmament as part of the Mechanism.

The Lebanese government had decided to recover the state's monopoly on arms at the beginning of August. In this context, the Lebanese Army has almost entirely disarmed the area south of the Litani, where it recovered most of Hezbollah's arsenal and discovered tunnels, without encountering opposition from Hezbollah.

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The army is now expected to move on to the area between the Litani and Awali rivers, while the party led by Sheikh Naim Qassem refuses to hand over its weapons in the rest of the country.

The Mechanism meeting also took place as, for the first time in South Lebanon, the Lebanese Army conducted, at least three times, searches of sites and buildings flagged by the Israeli army through the Committee as violating the cease-fire agreement, which prevented those sites from being bombed.

The Israeli army, nonetheless, continues to carry out strikes and attacks on the South.