Israel should be encouraged by French President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to improve the situation in Lebanon. His ultimate goal is to significantly weaken Hezbollah to allow the Land of the Cedars a sense of stability. It is not by chance that Macron has enlisted Riyadh in these efforts.
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The serious accusations made by Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi of Saudi Arabia's aggression in Yemen, and the Saudi ban on all Lebanese imports in response nearly led the two countries to cut ties. Saudi Arabia has always had a warm bilateral relationship with Lebanon, and the family of former and late Lebanese Prime Ministers Saad and Rafic Hariri in particular. Riyadh had a formidable influence in Lebanon until Iran entered the picture and took primacy. In recent years, Riyadh grew tired of Lebanon and decided to punish Beirut. Saudi Arabia sees Hezbollah as the sole reason for Lebanon's malaise. At the same time, Riyadh has seen that the country's leaders – including Hariri – have not done enough to keep the Shiite terrorist group from further establishing its grip to the point of having total control over the country.
Macron saw an opportunity and pressured Kordahi to resign. Equipped with Kordahi's resignation letter, Macron departed for a brief trip to Saudi Arabia and convinced Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to renew his interest in Lebanon. Unfortunately for the French leader, the two had differences of opinion. Macron aspires to a long-term solution that would end Lebanese ethnic rule while the Saudi heir seeks a more immediate and less tumultuous resolution that would see a continuation of the current situation albeit with a weakened Hezbollah.
Arguing for the need for reform and believing the Lebanese military is the only organization authorized to bear arms, Riyadh would like to see either a reduction in Hezbollah's arms or the complete disarmament of the terrorist organization. When the agreement that ended the 15-year Lebanese Civil War was signed in the Saudi city of Taif, the Saudis agreed to allow Hezbollah to keep its weapons while the other militias were disarmed. This move was aimed at keeping up opposition to Israel. Hezbollah also needed its weapons to defend Lebanon, which was licking its wounds at the time.
Much water has since flowed under the bridge. The situation in the Middle East has changed, and there is a real possibility Israel and Saudi Arabia could at one point maintain direct ties. That is why Riyadh is demanding Hezbollah's disarmament. The mission is a difficult one because Hezbollah, as an Iranian agent, is also active outside Lebanon's borders. Should there be a public discussion of Macron's ambitions or an international conference that obligates all sides as the head of Lebanon's Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch, Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahihas, has proposed, this could generate momentum that if used properly could surprise. If these Saudi-French efforts begin to take shape, Israel must hope for their success.
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