SpaceWar.com reports: “Israeli and US pressure on Lebanon’s army to speedily disarm militant group Hezbollah is intensifying, with the army chief cancelling a visit to Washington after officials snubbed him, a military official told AFP.
Lebanon’s army has been beefing up its presence in south Lebanon near the Israeli border since a US-brokered ceasefire last November sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.
Under a government-approved plan, the army is to dismantle Hezbollah military infrastructure south of the Litani river — some 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border — by the end of the year, before tackling the rest of the country.
The military official, requesting anonymity as the matter is sensitive, said ‘we respect the timeline approved by the government and which the United States and other concerned parties are aware of’.
But the official expressed concern that ‘systematic US and Israeli pressure could pave the way for an escalation of Israeli strikes’, adding that ‘the demand to disarm Hezbollah across all Lebanon before the end of the year is impossible’.
Israel has kept up near-daily attacks on Lebanon and still maintains troops in five areas in south Lebanon…”
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