Hezbollah must be disarmed before Israel-Lebanon normalization can advance, says Israeli official

After confirming that talks between Israel and Syria are advanced, an Israeli official says that contacts with the US-led deconfliction mechanism in Lebanon continue “all the time.”

Earlier today, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that Lebanon and Syria are both prospective candidates to join the Abraham Accords.

Before normalization with Lebanon can move ahead, says the official, “we need to finish the issue of disarming Hezbollah. It will be very hard. I don’t know if they will succeed.”

Still, the official indicates that the Lebanese Armed Forces have demonstrated they are serious about disarming Hezbollah. “They definitely have limitations that are both subjective and objective, but we are under the impression that they are trying. At least most of the army is trying. We are more-or-less effective enforcement, but you see that we are striking almost every day.”

“That should say a lot.”