Israel, Hezbollah closest to war since ceasefire as group's disarmament lags - analysis

“Hezbollah is rebuilding far more quickly than the Lebanese Army can disarm it,” Western intelligence sources told The Jerusalem Post last week.

Israel and Hezbollah are closer to war than they have been since the ceasefire agreement signed a year ago. Both sides currently understand the rules of the game, and yet those rules are becoming more dangerous by the day. Two months after the Lebanese government decided to disarm Hezbollah, it appears the plan is not proceeding as intended. 

“Hezbollah is rebuilding far more quickly than the Lebanese Army can disarm it,” Western intelligence sources told The Jerusalem Post last week.“Hezbollah is rebuilding far more quickly than the Lebanese Army can disarm it,” Western intelligence sources told The Jerusalem Post last week. There have been occasional attempts by the Lebanese army to confront the organization and act against its weapons stockpiles, but the pace is described as very slow.

That impression is shared by Israelis and their American counterparts, who feel that even if the government in Beirut has good intentions, nothing is happening on the ground: Hezbollah is managing to smuggle missiles out, recruit fighters, and rebuild bases.

“They simply aren’t doing enough,” senior American officials told the Post. President Donald Trump’s envoys, Morgan Ortagus and Tom Barrack, reprimanded the Lebanese, warned them they would be left alone, and cautioned that without Hezbollah’s disarmament, no funds would flow for the country’s reconstruction. There was even an Israeli request to slow the tempo of strikes, but none of this has helped much. (Read More)