Saudi Arabia, Qatar prepared to invest in new economic zone in Southern Lebanon
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are prepared to invest in a new economic zone in southern Lebanon to create jobs for Hezbollah members and supporters once they lay down their arms, U.S. Middle East envoy Tom Barrack announced Tuesday.
Speaking in Beirut after visits to
Israel and Syria, Barrack said the initiative aims to support Lebanon following
the government’s decision earlier this month to disarm Hezbollah by year’s end.
The group’s leader has already rejected the plan, vowing to keep weapons.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said Israel could begin withdrawing troops from southern Lebanon
after what he called Beirut’s “momentous decision” to disarm the Iran-backed
movement.
The U.S.-backed Lebanese army is
preparing a detailed plan for disarmament, expected to be reviewed by the
government on September 2.
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“We have to bring money into the
system,” Barrack said after meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. “Qatar and
Saudi Arabia are willing to do that for the south if we’re asking a portion of
the Lebanese community to give up their livelihood. We can’t just take weapons
and tell them ‘good luck planting olive trees.’ We must help them.”
Barrack estimated 40,000 Hezbollah
fighters receive salaries from Iran, saying the proposed economic zone would
serve as a replacement source of income.
The envoy also suggested Washington
prefers to fund the Lebanese army rather than expand financing for the UN
peacekeeping force (UNIFIL), whose mandate is up for renewal at the UN Security
Council this week.
The announcement comes against the
backdrop of lingering tensions along the Lebanese-Israeli border. A low-level
conflict that began in October 2023 escalated into full-scale war in September
2024, killing more than 4,000 people and causing $11 billion in damage,
according to the World Bank. The U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November 2024 ended
active fighting, though Israeli airstrikes continue to target Hezbollah
positions.
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A report by Amnesty International on Tuesday said more than 10,000 buildings were heavily damaged or destroyed in southern Lebanon between October 2024 and January 2025, and alleged that Israeli forces may have violated international law by destroying civilian property after fighting had ceased.
Source: ABC News