Amid the start of a cease-fire on Wednesday between Israel and the Iranian regime-backed Hezbollah terrorist movement in Lebanon, some leading Republican lawmakers accused President Biden of browbeating Israel into a temporary suspension of the war as the Jewish state staged a near-take down of the terror group's leadership and military structure.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reached the Litani River in Lebanon on Tuesday. A key war goal for the IDF is to push Hezbollah forces north of the Litani River. Under the cease-fire deal, Hezbollah is required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
Yet, the reported threat of Biden imposing a weapons embargo on Israel pulled the plug on Israel’s penetration of Hezbollah-controlled territory in southern Lebanon, according to regional experts and several lawmakers.
Describing the move by former officials from the Obama administration who now work in the Biden administration, it was stated that the Obama-Biden team coerced Israel into signing onto Obama’s vision for the U.S. role in Lebanon, consolidating a framework that should have been dismantled.
Amos Hochstein, the presidential envoy who brokered the deal, informed President-elect Donald Trump's team about the tenets of the deal, emphasizing the importance of understanding and supporting it for the incoming administration.
Hezbollah launched rocket attacks a day after the Hamas massacre of nearly 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2024, in southern Israel. The Iranian regime-backed Hamas terrorist movement slaughtered more than 40 Americans during the invasion.
According to an Israeli newspaper, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aides said Biden threatened a weapons delivery stoppage for Israel if Jerusalem continued to prosecute its war in Lebanon.
The Biden administration denied the punitive measures targeting Israel to bring about a cease-fire in Lebanon, with a senior administration official stating that the topic of sanctioning Israel never came up.
Backing this up in his interview with the sources, Hochstein also denied the Biden administration threatened Israel over the use of its U.N. Security Council veto if it did not sign the deal.
Biden’s approach toward the delivery of weapons to Israel as the Jewish state fights a seven-front war against Iran proxies has been a source of friction between Netanyahu and the United States.
Lebanese experts have long argued that Hezbollah is the de facto ruler of Lebanon, with many countries classifying Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Mayors and local leaders in the northern towns ravaged by Hezbollah’s missile attacks opposed the cease-fire deal because the terms did not ensure their safety.
Biden said that over 70,000 Israelis were forced to flee their homes in northern Israel because of Hezbollah’s rocket attacks.
UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti stated that the proliferation of weapons outside state control in Lebanon has been an undeniable fact, with UNIFIL not mandated to disarm Hezbollah by force.
When asked about the cease-fire deal, Jake Sullivan attributed it to Israel achieving its military objectives, stakeholders in Lebanon deciding against war, and relentless American diplomacy led by President Biden.
A Trump-Vance transition official mentioned that President Trump's support for Israel and commitment to peace in the Middle East remains steadfast, with actors in the region making moves toward peace due to his historic victory.
