Senators offer Lebanon aid Bill tied to countering Hezbollah

WASHINGTON – US senators introduced legislation that would authorise US$200 million (S$255.64 million) a year in security assistance to Lebanon’s armed forces and impose sanctions on foreign persons who back Hezbollah, a bipartisan effort to help secure peace in the country.

The Bill, introduced late in the night of Aug 6, aims to build on a Trump administration-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel and pave the way for a broader settlement between the countries.

The measure would tie the security aid to progress by the Lebanese government in countering Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group deemed a terrorist organisation by the US, with a path to boosting that assistance to US$300 million annually.

Lebanon has “a real chance to reclaim its sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and break free from Iran’s malign influence,” with US support, New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.

Shaheen introduced the legislation with Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma.

“A sovereign Lebanon protects Lebanese, Israeli, and American citizens living in the region, and puts real pressure on the terrorists,” Lankford said.

After the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, Hezbollah responded by attacking Israeli targets.

Israel sent thousands of troops across the border into southern Lebanon to counter the militant group.

Under the US-backed truce, Israel withdrew some troops in July with plans for Lebanon to establish military authority over Hezbollah.

Israel and Hezbollah, however, saw renewed fighting this week, as Israel Defence Forces warned residents of a town in southern Lebanon to evacuate in anticipation of attacks on the group.

The legislation would also authorise new sanctions targeting foreign persons who support Iran’s financing of Hezbollah and those who obstruct Lebanon’s efforts to disarm the group.

The sanctions include the blocking of property, prohibitions of financial transactions and visa restrictions.

The Bill also would establish a fund to help the Lebanese government rebuild infrastructure and fund civil services in areas long dominated by Hezbollah, with the goal of providing communities an alternative to dependence on services provided by militants. BLOOMBERG