US energy envoy Amos Hochstein will reportedly meet with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, House Speaker Nabih Berri and military chief Joseph Aoun. He will also conduct a rare visit by a US official to Lebanon’s southern border to examine the UN Interim Force In Lebanon’s presence there.
The UN Security Council is set to vote Thursday on renewing the peacekeeping force’s mandate. Lebanon and the Hezbollah terror group based in the country are pushing to restrict UNIFIL’s mandate and want the force to be barred from conducting patrols that aren’t coordinated with the Lebanese military. Israel and the US, on the other hand, oppose the demand and want UNIFIL’s mandate strengthened further. READ MORE