United States President Donald Trump criticized the way Israel is fighting the radical Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and pointed out that Syria should take the lead in the confrontation against the group.
“Israel has been fighting Hezbollah for a long time and a lot of people are being killed,” Trump pointed out, during a speech at the G7 summit in France, this Tuesday, 16. “You don’t need to demolish an apartment building every time you’re looking for someone. Because there are a lot of people in those buildings. And not all of them are Hezbollah, that’s for sure.”
The Republican highlighted that he is not happy with Israeli operations in Lebanon. He said Tel-Aviv should have “finished the job faster.” “It just never ends. And when it does, it casts a negative light on the big deal, which is the Iran deal.”
Trump reiterated that he did not like the Israeli attacks on Hezbollah positions in Beirut on Sunday, the 14th, amid negotiations with Iran. “Two hours before we signed an agreement, Israel attacked Lebanon.”
Syria
The American president stated that Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Sharaa, would do a better job in the fight against Hezbollah.
“And I suggested to Israel that they let Syria take care of Hezbollah,” says Trump. “Because, to be honest, I think they would do a better job.”
Trump highly praised the Syrian leader and classified the relationship between the two as positive. “He’s very capable. And he’s been very good to me. If Israel can’t do the job without killing everyone, he will. Syria will do the job.”
G7
Trump is participating in the G7 summit this Tuesday, the 16th. He met with leaders from several countries, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Before returning to the USA, the republican is expected to have dinner with the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday, the 17th.
The US president announced that he has reached a peace agreement with Iran, which will be formally implemented at a ceremony in Geneva on Friday the 19th.
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Israel did not participate in the negotiations and was not happy with the agreement. The relationship between Trump and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has soured in recent days due to successive Israeli bombings in Lebanon, despite calls for restraint from the US.
The ceasefire in Lebanon is part of the agreement between Iran and the US, but Netanyahu declared that Israeli troops will not leave southern Lebanon.
Negotiation
According to information from the agency ReutersHezbollah has received assurances from Iran that Israeli troops will need to leave Lebanon for the next phase of negotiations with the US to move forward.
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The Shiite militia told Reuters that there will be “no nuclear deal between Iran and the United States without the Israelis withdrawing from Lebanon.” (With information from the Associated Press).
