US intensifying econ. pressure on Lebanon to force normalization of ties with Israel: Analyst

The United States has intensified economic and political pressure on Lebanon to force the country into joining the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a number of other Arab states in normalizing relations with the Israeli regime, says a political analyst.

In an interview with Press TV on Friday, Julia Kassem said the economic pressure applied by the US and its allies on Lebanon has been meant to force the Lebanese government into normalization with the Tel Aviv regime.

“The policies are designed to force an ouster of the pro-sovereign elements in Lebanon’s government, i.e. Hezbollah and its allies in parliament as well as President Michel Aoun, who is opposed to [Prime Minister-designate Saad] Hariri, the US, and their schemes, and install a complete administration compliant to US and Israeli demands of Lebanon,” Kassem said.

Over the past year, a number of Arab governments under the influence of the US have signed normalization deals with Israel.

Lebanon is facing both a political deadlock and an economic crisis. No new government has been agreed in the country some seven months after Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned in the wake of an explosion at the Beirut port on August 4, which destroyed swathes of the capital and left 200 people dead.

Compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades as prices are skyrocketing and more than half of the population is now living below the poverty line.

The secretary-general of the Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Thursday that certain groups were trying to foment a civil war in Lebanon along economic, racial, and religious lines.

He warned, however, that “driving Lebanon into a civil war… is a red line.”

Kassem stressed that Hezbollah “does not want to reach the point of the civil war.”

“This is why, despite all of the economic sabotage the US and their allies have put Lebanon under, they feel they cannot impose their proposals for complete political and economic change in the current context,” she said.

Kassem said easing the economic pressures on Lebanon, “pushed by the West and its allies, will alleviate the social tension that is the precursor to internal instability.”

Prime Minister-designate Hariri has failed so far to form a new, inclusive government. On Wednesday, President Aoun called on Hariri to step down if he cannot form a new government soon, given the difficulties faced by the country.

Hariri has, in turn, accused the president of obstructing government formation, a claim that Aoun has denied.

The Lebanese people have been staging protests since 2019 as the financial crisis has so far slashed almost 90% of the value of the Lebanese currency and raised the risk of widespread hunger.

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