Report: Trump Offered Lebanon Full Israeli Withdrawal in Exchange for Peace With Israel
A Lebanese newspaper cites one unnamed diplomat, and the White House has not confirmed it. Israeli officials say troops will not leave before Hezbollah is disarmed.
See where this is ›JERUSALEM, Israel —
U.S. President Donald Trump has offered Lebanon a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon if it normalizes relations with Israel and joins the Abraham Accords, the Lebanese newspaper Ad-Diyar reported, according to All Israel News on Oct. 30. The report, by journalist Nour Naameh, cited an unnamed senior Gulf diplomatic source who called the offer an official commitment.
See where this is ›The White House has neither confirmed nor denied the report, All Israel News said. Ad-Diyar offered no documents and did not say when the offer was made or whether a timetable for withdrawal was discussed.
Senior Israeli officials, speaking anonymously to The Jerusalem Post, did not address the reported offer directly. They said any withdrawal depends on Hezbollah being disarmed across Lebanon, not only near the border. “No withdrawal before Hezbollah is disarmed,” the officials said, adding that a peace agreement fits Israel's goals once the threat to residents of northern Israel is resolved.
Israel says its forces are in southern Lebanon to protect northern communities from Hezbollah attacks. In June, Lebanon and Israel signed a U.S.-backed agreement linking an Israeli withdrawal to Hezbollah's disarmament. In March, Beirut outlawed Hezbollah's military activities, but the group has not disarmed and vows to continue its “resistance” against Israel, All Israel News reported.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has asked France to help secure an international peacekeeping force to replace UNIFIL, the peacekeeping mission scheduled to withdraw by January 2027.
The report comes amid separate word of possible new fighting with Iran. MSNOW, citing three senior Gulf Arab officials, reported that Washington warned Gulf allies to prepare for strikes on Iran as early as Nov. 4, the day after the U.S. midterm elections, The Times of Israel said Oct. 31. A White House official told MSNOW, “we do not comment on sensitive military plans that may or may not exist.”
What we don't know yet: Watchman News could not independently confirm the reported offer, which rests on one unnamed source. Lebanon's response, if any, was not reported. No timetable for a withdrawal has been reported, and the White House has not confirmed any plan for strikes on Iran.
