Israel wants to extend presence in Lebanon, testing Trump diplomacy
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. BEIRUT—Israel is seeking to keep control of five strategic points on high ground in southern Lebanon after the deadline for its forces to withdraw, setting up a diplomatic test for the Trump administration as it works to manage shaky cease-fires in the region. Israel says it needs the positions to defend its communities after a year of war with Hezbollah.
But Lebanon has rejected the idea, creating friction around a deal that ended months of fighting that included thousands of Israeli airstrikes and an invasion of southern Lebanon. The push to hold the high ground follows Israel’s earlier moves to seize positions including the peak of Mt. Hermon in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime and to carve out a bigger buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip after 16 months of war with Hamas.
Israel is also successfully pressing Lebanon’s government to block Iranian flights it says are transporting cash for Hezbollah. A flight was stopped Thursday after Israel flagged that it might be carrying money, and flights from Iran will be halted until Feb. 18, a person familiar with the matter said.
Another flight was stopped Friday, Iranian state media said. A spokesman for the Israeli military called out the cash-smuggling efforts on Thursday and said it raises such incidents with the committee overseeing the cease-fire in Lebanon. The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Friday said Israeli “threats" to the Lebanese air route violate international law.
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