Top US envoy Thomas Barrack and Deputy Special Envoy Morgan Ortagus arrived in Israel on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss issues concerning Lebanon and Syria, a source familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post.
The envoys spoke to the prime minister regarding America’s request that Israel restrain its strikes in Lebanon, as well as negotiations with Syria.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee joined the two envoys in their meetings with Netanyahu.
Barrack also reportedly met with Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The two are set to travel to Lebanon on Monday following the conclusion of their visit to Jerusalem. Senior Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham will join the envoys in Beirut, the Post can exclusively reveal.
Barrack and Ortagus, envoys of US President Donald Trump, held their meetings in Israel a day before their scheduled visit to Beirut on Monday.
The US officials asked Israel to work with them to advance the possibility of Lebanon’s government dismantling Hezbollah.
Senior Israeli officials were told that if concrete results were achieved on the ground - specifically, if the Lebanese army would truly start disarming Hezbollah - Israel would be expected to “step back” and allow the Lebanese authorities to take the lead.
The emphasis, however, was that such Israeli restraint would only be warranted if genuine steps toward disarmament were underway.
The Lebanese government and army are expected to finalize, by next week, a plan for Hezbollah’s disarmament, following a decision made by the Lebanese cabinet several weeks ago. The visit of the American envoys underscores Washington’s intent to ensure that the plan is not merely symbolic but actually implemented.
The view in Washington is that the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had taken a courageous step, but Washington stressed that the real test would be on the ground.
Graham to join US envoys in Beirut after Israeli visit
The two envoys will be joined by senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, whose participation is meant to signal to the Lebanese government that if it acts to dismantle Hezbollah’s arsenal, it will receive economic assistance - including measures to strengthen the Lebanese army.
Gulf states have also made it clear to Beirut that they will not assist in rebuilding Lebanon’s devastated south - heavily damaged after two years of conflict - unless decisive measures are taken to disarm Hezbollah. Their concern is that any reconstruction carried out while Hezbollah remains active would primarily benefit the terrorist organization.
On the Syrian front, the visit comes shortly after last week’s trilateral summit involving Trump’s envoy Tom Barrack, Israel’s Dermer, and Syria’s foreign minister. Israeli officials admitted they were surprised that Syria’s official news agency reported on the meeting.
“This is the first time since the 1990s that Syrian media has openly reported on a meeting with senior Israeli officials. It’s remarkable,” one source said. “The very fact that dialogue is happening is significant. Everyone understands that normalization is still far off, but there is considerable communication, attempts to reduce tensions, and perhaps even discussions that could eventually lead to a security arrangement between the two countries.”