In recent backchannel negotiations in Oman, Iran proposed to the United States a three-stage deal aimed at capping the Islamic Republic's uranium enrichment in exchange for phased sanctions relief, according to diplomatic sources in Tehran.
The proposal was delivered in writing by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff during three hours of talks on Saturday, reported Iran International.
In the first phase, Iran would temporarily reduce uranium enrichment to 3.67%—the limit set under the 2015 nuclear deal—in return for access to frozen financial assets and permission to export oil.
The second phase envisions a permanent end to high-level enrichment, and renewed cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), including the reinstatement of surprise inspections under the agency's "Additional Protocol for verification of nuclear safeguards." This would be contingent on broader U.S. sanctions relief and European powers refraining from reimposing U.N. sanctions.
In the final stage, Iran would transfer its highly enriched uranium stockpile to a third country, while the U.S. Congress would approve a new nuclear agreement and lift primary and secondary sanctions.
Though Iran insists it is not pursuing nuclear weapons, U.S. intelligence maintains that Tehran has not made a definitive decision to build one. Witkoff reportedly welcomed the proposal, surprising the Iranian delegation in Muscat. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also appeared encouraged by the outcome, calling the talks a “good first step.”
However, skepticism remains. A diplomatic source outside Iran suggested Tehran’s main goal is to stall for time to rebuild air defense systems and missile capabilities damaged in recent Israeli attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed credit for undermining Iran’s nuclear progress, while IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned that Tehran remains dangerously close to weapons capability, urging greater international verification.
As part of its comprehensive preparations for the Passover holiday, the IDF Rabbinate worked to facilitate kosher-for-Passover equipment and seder-night supplies for all units in the Israel Defense Forces. These efforts extended not only to assembly and training areas in Israel but to combat-ready units in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and Judea and Samaria, all while maintaining readiness for combat escalation and extreme scenarios.
To enable all soldiers on operational missions, including positions and ambushes, vessels, aircraft, armored vehicles, etc., to celebrate and mark the seder night according to Jewish law, 7,000 individually pre-packaged “mitzvah meals” were distributed to soldiers in combat zones, containing all the food items necessary to conduct a Passover seder. The packages contained a seder plate with all its components (handmade matzah, grape juice, roasted meat, bitter herbs, charoset and a karpas vegetable), as well as pamphlets containing halachah (Jewish law) guidelines for religious soldiers dealing with combat-related limitations.
In addition, the IDF Rabbinate trained hundreds of soldiers and volunteer leaders in a special workshop so they could conduct the seder in units and the field.
Col. Rabbi Chaim Weisberg, the head of the IDF Rabbinate Department, explained the motivation behind the preparations. “The IDF Rabbinate,” he said, “working in close cooperation with logistics personnel at the General Staff Supply Center, did everything possible so that soldiers felt the spirit of the holiday and as much at home as possible on Passover. As part of this, attention and optimal responses were given to unique populations such as celiacs, vegans, vegetarians and those requiring stricter kosher certification.”
Beyond the seder meals, the following items were distributed to soldiers stationed in the Syrian, Lebanese, Gaza, and Judea and Samaria sectors, as well as assembly areas: more than 83,000 Haggadahs; 200,000-plus pounds of matzah, including 17,000 pounds of handmade matzah; matzah with strict kosher certification (Eida Haredit) for Haredi soldiers; 390 tons of meat cuts, 420 tons of chicken and 64 tons of fish, all kosher-for-Passover; 710,000 kosher-for-Passover “rolls”; and thousands of seder plates, wine cups, kippahs and prayer books.
Additionally, dozens of morale-boosting materials were produced and distributed in the thousands, dealing with strengthening the fighting spirit, as well as halachic guidelines for holiday observance this year, with a special section regarding Passover eve falling on Shabbat.
Equally critical from a kosher standpoint, the IDF Rabbinate worked to “turn over” all IDF food facilities and make them kosher-for-Passover—from the Syrian Hermon down to the southernmost outpost in Eilat. Thousands of kitchens and other facilities were “koshered” in a highly complex operation by hundreds of rabbinical and professional staff, regular and reserve soldiers, at times requiring the use of blowtorches and industrial-sized vats of boiling water.
Koshering military facilities ahead of Passover in Israel. Credit: IDF.
Col. (res.) Rabbi Chagai Velusky, Passover Project coordinator, said that “every year is challenging in its own right,” but this year was particularly so because of all the uncertainty. Right up until Passover eve, he noted, “not everything was finalized due to security considerations. We knew everything would be fluid and volatile, yet alongside this, we needed to prepare.”
He continued, saying that “all the kosher preparations were done without affecting operational activity, which is a very important principle that guides us in preparation for kosher certification and in the certification itself.
“An additional complication unique to this year was that the seder night fell on Saturday night. This meant the seder started at a relatively late hour, which challenged us to speed up the seder in certain locations that rotated out personnel during seder night for operational reasons. It also required us to provide special matzah for soldiers to use instead of challah for their Shabbat meals, but which needed to remain separate from the Pesach matzah, as it was already forbidden to serve leavened products in any of the meals on IDF bases before Shabbat.”
Velusky added: “Not only that, but for the first time, we also prepared across the border in Syria, which was a challenge unto itself. The intense activity in the West Bank further complicated matters, as during the week of ‘koshering’ itself, additional battalion rotations were called up, and we had to provide kosher-for-Passover facilities for them as well.”
"In the wee hours of the night in early January, I received a phone call from a friend who works in a company that tracks vehicles," Yosef Hayim Magnezi told me, as his eyes scan the "smugglers' highway," the route that connects the Rantis checkpoint, east of Ben-Gurion International Airport, to Ni'lin via Qibiya that is bordered by countless illegal chop-shops and scrapyards.
"Listen," his friend said, "we have located a stolen car that has crossed over to your side, literally at the foot of your farm. Can you take a look?"
Magnezi went to the top of the hill, and there, eye to eye with him, were the blazing headlights. The stolen car was making its way in the darkness, undisturbed, toward one of the chop shops.
"I see the car," the farmer reported, and at his friend's request, he set out on a high-speed chase while placing a call to the Israel Police. "We caught the vehicle minutes before the tracking device was disabled."
The Regavim NGO has filed a first-of-its-kind High Court of Justice petition against an illegal chop shop, one of many similar illegal enterprises operated by Arabs throughout Judea and Samaria.
Most of these outfits are set up adjacent to the Judea and Samaria security barrier, for two main reasons: Israelis from inside the Green Line frequent them for cheap car repairs or to buy cars that have been designated for the scrap heap, and because they enable very rapid "treatment" of vehicles stolen from nearby Israeli cities.
Last week, we joined members of the Regavim movement's field staff for a visit to one of the most important hotspots of automotive theft in central Israel.
Through the Rantis checkpoint, a short ride from Shoham, car thieves drive at dizzying speed along the path that stretches from the village of Qibiya, perhaps best known for retaliation strikes carried out by the legendary Unit 101 commandoes in the 1950s, to Ni'lin, northwest of Modi'in. Yosef told us that it's only five minutes from the Rantis checkpoint to the string of illegal junkyards. "At 150 kph [93 mph]?" I ask. "No," Yosef said, "much faster than that."
The preferred method of the car thieves isn't particularly sophisticated or complicated. They sneak across the Green Line through the Rantis passage, steal a car from one of the cities of central Israel, and then step on the gas all the way back to the Binyamin region of Samaria.
It's a short distance, and the fact that there are only sporadic checks of cars re-entering Judea and Samaria makes it easy to disappear into the sprawl of Arab villages. A few weeks ago, a driver of one such vehicle hit a security booth at the checkpoint while trying to escape from the police who were in pursuit. It was a miracle that no one was injured.
"This area is truly the Wild West," Menash, Regavim's field coordinator for Judea and Samaria, told us.
In the area between Route 465, aka the Trans-Binyamin Route, the IDF base at Adam, and the security barrier, there are dozens of illegal junkyards. Aside from the fact that they are causing massive environmental damage and that they are unlicensed, they also serve as disassembly lines for stolen vehicles: Within minutes of their high-speed arrival, tracking devices are removed, and the car is virtually untraceable.
IDF soldiers and military police enter a home in Dhahiriya, southwestern Judea, looking for Palestinians who have stolen Israeli cars, Aug. 3, 2004. Credit: Flash90.
The strategic spot
Magnezi's farm, located in the most strategic spot in the area, wasn't established to act against car thieves, but it is playing an important supporting role in efforts to fight against them. The residents of the farm identify stolen vehicles, report to the police and the army even though the authorities are often unable to devote the necessary resources due to the overload of tasks, and cooperate with the tracking companies to help locate stolen vehicles.
The chop shop that has the starring role in the Regavim petition is located above Route 446, adjacent to the Ofarim Junction. Unlike others in the area, this one isn't located deep in the territory; it's adjacent to the main road. On Saturdays, the chop shop is packed with Israelis who come to have their cars repaired for a fraction of what it would cost in a legal Israeli garage. They don't know where the replacement parts come from, whether from cars that have been deemed unsafe and decommissioned by the Ministry of Transport or from stolen vehicles, and because the "garage" is operating illegally, there's no way to track the parts' origin.
Menash explains the deeper problems behind these illegal operations as we drive up to the chop shop against which Regavim has petitioned.
"These chop shops have everything to gain from car theft: Often, cars are stolen on a 'special order' basis on behalf of garage owners within the Green Line. In addition, the State of Israel prefers to ignore decommissioned vehicles rather than provide reasonable solutions for the owners to dispose of them."
We turn into the lot and park the car. The workers apparently suspect that we are undercover police or Shin Bet agents, and they cooperate with us while following our every move.
"I'm from this village over here," says one of them, and when we ask who owns the business, he says, "It's jointly owned—an Israeli from Elad and a Palestinian from this area."
When we make our way back to our car, they follow us, under the pretense of getting to work on an Israeli Mercedes that's undergoing extensive work. "It was a taxi," they explain as they get into the vehicle, "We've done major body work and installed a new battery."
To enforce laws
The respondents named in Regavim's petition for a temporary injunction are Defense Minister Israel Katz, Minister in the Defense Ministry Betzalel Smotrich, OC Central Command Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, Civil Administration head Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim, the Civil Administration's environmental protection officer and the custodian of abandoned and government property.
The petition asks the respondents to explain "why you are not taking all necessary steps to enforce laws for the protection of state land and resources, planning and construction laws and environmental protection laws through issuance of eviction notices, work stop orders, demolition and restraining orders against the operation of the illegal, polluting automotive scrapyard near the Ofarim Junction."
"The invasion of state land and the illegal work are being carried out in Area C, which is under full Israeli civil and security jurisdiction, in a manner that harms the rights of the public and the state," the petition notes.
Before filing the petition, numerous actions were taken in an attempt to spur the authorities to enforce the law, but no effective ones were carried out.
"What we see before us is a brazen takeover of registered state land that is being completely ignored by the authorities, a serious breach of responsibility that is allowing illegal expropriation of public resources," Regavim's petition charges, alongside a demand for immediate action against the chop shop.
There are three main clusters of illegal chop shops. Aside from those in the Binyamin region, there is a city of chop shops in the Mount Hebron region near the Meitarim checkpoint in Judea, and a large concentration of chop shops near the security barrier in northern Samaria, not far from Shaked and Hinanit.
These locations ensure a constant flow of customers from both sides of the security barrier, Israelis and Palestinian Arabs, while the authorities turn a blind eye.
Regavim considers this a flagship petition, a test case for enforcement against the illegal chop shops that it considers "the foundation stone of the automotive theft industry in Israel." In the NGO's words, "We must halt this severe problem."
Israel Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria: "Criminality and environmental damage are a security hazard. The enforcement system must root out this industrial-scale criminality by local Arabs. There is a direct connection between illegal businesses and terrorism, and we expect the law enforcement system to act without delay."
Ten years ago, then-Israeli President Reuven Rivlin identified secular Jews, national religious Orthodox Jews, Haredi Jews and Arabs as the key populations comprising Israel’s citizenry and declared that their full integration would be essential for the country’s enduring growth. Rivlin’s groundbreaking remarks, widely known as the “four tribes” speech, brought new attention to Arab citizens, who comprise more than one-fifth of the country’s population.
A year later, the Israeli government began implementing comprehensive economic development plans to boost Arab matriculation from Israeli universities, employment in a variety of fields, as well as enhanced housing and transportation in Arab towns and villages. Improvements in the socio-economic conditions of Arab citizens, as well as increased interactions at campuses and workplaces, benefited relations between Jewish and Arab Israelis across the country. The health-care sector is an impressive example; 25% of doctors, 27% of nurses and 49% of pharmacists in Israel are Arab.
While multibillion-dollar government expenditures were welcomed, for decades, it has been civil-society organizations that have led, especially in the education area, efforts to deepen mutual understanding among Jews and Arabs and build constructive, cooperative relations. Many schoolchildren and youth encounters have long taken place at the 40-acre campus of Givat Haviva, the oldest and largest shared society organization in Israel.
Since Jews and Arabs attend separate school systems through high school and generally do not meet until they are in university or the workplace, encounters at Givat Haviva, supported in part by the Israel Ministry of Education, are meaningful for establishing viable interactions.
Programs that further the integration of Arab citizens into Israeli society, deepen ties with fellow Jewish citizens as well as with the government, are essential to the country’s well-being. That fact should impel American Jews to embrace initiatives advancing a shared society.
For many American Jews, however, Israeli citizens who are not Jewish were rarely, if ever, mentioned in our Jewish education. Directly engaging with Israeli Arabs was not common, even as many of us got more involved with organized Jewish life in the United States and traveled to Israel.
Some pondered at the time of Rivlin’s speech if American Jews constituted a fifth tribe. Certainly, the largest Diaspora community has a vested interest in Israel’s success, in the strongest possible American Jewish-Israeli relationship. Successive Israeli presidents have long welcomed U.S. Jewish involvement in many Israeli societal issues.
To not openly recognize that 21% of Israelis who are not Jewish are integral to the state, to not actively connect with them, is inconsistent with our values as American Jews.
A majority of Arab citizens identify as Israeli and want to be treated as equals. Fulfilling the promise of Israel’s Declaration of Independence (officially the “Declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel”) should be a common goal of Jews and Arabs, supported by American Jews. The State of Israel will “have equal social and political rights for all of its citizens without differentiating between religion, race and gender,” proclaims the declaration. It also calls on the “Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the state on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.”
Fulfilling that promise is consistent with Jewish values. While conditions in Israel and the United States are not entirely comparable, the essence of a democratic nation depends on the constructive interactions among its diverse populations. In the United States, we have long appreciated the imperative of working with other faith and ethnic groups for the betterment of American society. While the Israeli context is different, Israeli Arabs and Jews are destined to live together. That was and remains Rivlin’s core message.
The foundations of shared society have held firm since Oct. 7, 2023. Yes, the latest Givat Haviva survey found a significant increase in levels of mistrust among Israeli Arabs and Jews toward each other. Significantly, during Israel’s multi-front war, the situation did not deteriorate into violence between Arab and Jewish citizens, which was a sharp contrast to the violence that erupted in Israel's mixed cities during Hamas’s missile and rocket attacks in May 2021.
At Givat Haviva and other entities working on Jewish-Arab relations, vigorous efforts are underway to ensure that rebuilding trust is considered a national priority. All Jews should join fully in this principled endeavor. Let’s invite Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel to speak at national organizations’ annual meetings in the United States and include visits with them during our missions to Israel.
Our shared Jewish commitments, both American and Israeli, to democracy will embolden all who are working to strengthen the shared society in Israel.
Hamas has officially rejected Israel’s latest ceasefire and hostage deal proposal, intensifying tensions and casting uncertainty over the fate of the 59 captives still held in Gaza.
Khalil al-Hayya, acting chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, who heads the group’s negotiating team, announced on Thursday evening that the terrorist organization will not accept any partial agreements, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using such proposals to prolong the war for political gain.
“Netanyahu presented impossible proposals,” said al-Hayya. “We are ready for an immediate, comprehensive deal that includes the release of all captives in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the start of reconstruction.”
Al-Hayya emphasized that Hamas considers armed resistance, i.e. terrorism, a “natural right” and will not discuss disarmament.
The group’s statement came in response to a reported Israeli offer—communicated via mediators—that included a six-week ceasefire and the release of 10 living hostages and 16 bodies. Al-Hayya claimed that Hamas had previously agreed to a mediated deal at the end of Ramadan, saying that Netanyahu deliberately sabotaged the process for his own political survival.
The Hamas rejection sparked fierce reactions from Israeli officials.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for an escalation of military action: “It’s time to open the gates of hell on Hamas. The war must end only with total victory—complete destruction of Hamas and full achievement of our objectives.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir dismissing the possibility of a ceasefire or hostage deal and urged unrelenting pressure until Hamas surrenders. “No more excuses,” he said. “Only absolute victory.”
Education Minister Yoav Kisch said: “We must not hesitate. Only by applying decisive, uncompromising force will we force Hamas to return the hostages and collapse their rule.”
Amid the diplomatic breakdown, Hamas officials abroad reaffirmed the group’s position. Senior member Mahmoud Mardawi declared that Hamas would not negotiate over weapons or "armed resistance," stating, “This is a purely Israeli proposal, not part of any Egyptian or international mediation.”
Mardawi added that Hamas is open to dialogue with the Trump administration, should it be relevant.
The Israeli government maintains that its goals remain unchanged: the return of all hostages and the complete defeat of Hamas. Netanyahu held a security consultation on Wednesday and instructed officials to continue advancing efforts to recover the captives.
Air-raid sirens sounded in Israel shortly after 6:30 on Friday morning as the IDF announced that the Israeli Air Force's Arrow 3 exoatmospheric hypersonic missile platform intercepted a ballistic projectile fired by the Houthis from Yemen.
The threat caused civilian aircraft to be diverted from their flight paths, causing landing delays, although Ben-Gurion International Airport soon resumed normal service.
Missile fragments fell in the Beit Fajar area, south of Bethlehem in Judea.
This morning’s attack tested the IDF’s new warning system, which is supposed to send out an alert before the sirens are sounded. However, it worked with mixed results. Many users reported that the IDF Spokesperson’s announcement triggered news alerts in the media, but this was not coupled with receipt of an advance alert via the Home Front Command app. Other users did report receiving the alert in advance.
The missile attack from Yemen came after a night of significant American airstrikes in the southern Arabia nation. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced last night that it had destroyed the Ras Isa fuel port, which is under the control of the Houthi rebels, near the port of Hodeidah in northwestern Yemen. According to the U.S. military, the objective of the strike was "to damage the Houthis’ economic power source."
The Houthis reported that at least 38 people were killed in the strike, including port workers and rescue personnel, and at least 102 others were injured. Yemeni media published footage of fires and massive fireballs at the port. This was one of the deadliest U.S. strikes in Yemen since the American military's "Operation Rough Rider" against the Houthis began on March 15.
"The Houthis continued to derive economic and military benefit from countries and companies providing material support to the terrorist organization," said U.S. Central Command following the strike. "The Iran-backed Houthis use fuel to support their military operations and generate economic profits from import revenues. This fuel should be legitimately supplied to the people of Yemen. Ships deliver fuel through the Ras Isa port, and profits from these illegal sales directly fund the Houthis and their terror efforts."
"The goal was to harm the Houthis’ economic power source, as they continue to exploit their fellow countrymen and cause them immense suffering," the statement said.
CENTCOM emphasized: "This strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen, who rightly want to rid themselves of the Houthis and live in peace. The Houthis, their Iranian patrons, and those who knowingly support their terrorist activities must understand that the world will not accept illegal smuggling of fuel and weapons to a terrorist organization."
An employee of an Israeli diamond and jewelry company was processing a diamond worth 1 million shekels (about $270,000) when it exploded, rendering it worthless. He is now being sued for the cost of the diamond.
The worker is the brother of the owner of the company.
The two companies that supplied the diamond decided to sue the worker personally at the Israeli Diamond Exchange Arbitration Tribunal, Israeli news site N12 reported.
The lawsuit is ongoing.
Attorney Avichai Yosef, who represents the defendant, said diamonds do sometimes explode while being developed.
"This is an event that sometimes occurs during the processing and polishing process, and usually the insurance covers the damage," he said.
"In this case, there was no insurance coverage for the diamond, which is estimated to be worth about NIS 1 million," he added.
The fact that there was a failure to buy insurance is at the heart of the suit, N12 reported.
"According to TASE [Tel Aviv Stock Exchange] regulations, all parties— the polisher, the buyer and others—are supposed to purchase insurance for the risks. It is clear that the lack of insurance is what caused the outbreak of the dispute that reached the door of the Diamond Exchange Arbitration Institute," Yosef said.
He argued that the defendant was only an employee and not making independent decisions and therefore should not be held accountable.
The attorney asked the Tel Aviv District Court for a declaratory judgment, according to which the Diamond Exchange Arbitration Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear the dispute.
Yosef also submitted a request to the Diamond Exchange for a temporary injunction to avoid conflicting decisions from the two courts.
"Court intervention in an internal arbitration proceeding of the stock exchange is indeed extremely rare," Yosef said.
"But here, when it is clear that it was the company that signed the agreements and the employee acted only as an employee, the case constitutes a clear exception, and therefore there is a real chance of legal intervention," he added.
"The goal is for the company to bear responsibility for its transactions, and not for the salaried employee, who is not supposed to pay a debt created by its business activity," he said.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday he intends to ensure all weapons are “under the state’s authority,” but added he wants to achieve this without foreign intervention and through dialogue with Hezbollah.
Aoun also told the London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper that “Hezbollah members who meet military criteria can join the armed forces, as various [militias] did at the end of the [1975-90 Lebanese] Civil War."
His comments reflect the vulnerability of Hezbollah, which had total autonomy in Lebanon before it initiated a war with Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, that cost it the lives of its top echelon and thousands of terrorists, as well as much of its hold on Lebanon’s south.
At the same time, the language used by Aoun, a Christian whose immediate constituency is hostile to Hezbollah, also demonstrated that even in its weakened state, the terrorist group remains a formidable force in Lebanese politics and society as the main representative (along with the allied Amal movement) of the interests of more than a million Shi’ites, who account for a fifth of Lebanon’s population.
"I told the Americans that we want to remove Hezbollah's weapons, but we will not ignite a civil war in Lebanon," Aoun told the newspaper. "The decision has been made to place all weapons under the state. The execution will happen through dialogue, which I believe must be bilateral between the presidency and Hezbollah."
Aoun said he preferred speaking of “placing weapons under state authority” rather than “disarming Hezbollah,” because this was a more productive and less provocative approach. He underlined that progress must come from within. “This is a Lebanese issue, and only internal dialogue can solve it,” he said.
"We have reached the point where the army is carrying out its missions—south of the Litani, north of the Litani, and even in the Bekaa—without any obstruction from Hezbollah," he added.
Thousands of Hezbollah fighters, as well as the group’s top command, have been killed in an 11-month war with Israel that Hezbollah initiated on Oct. 8, 2023. On Nov. 26, Lebanon signed a ceasefire under whose terms Hezbollah would need to leave Southern Lebanon, south of the Litani River.
Israel has carried out several deadly strikes against Hezbollah since then, citing its violations of the ceasefire. It has nonetheless held.
Israel’s actions, which Hezbollah says violate the terms of the ceasefire, make disarming the terrorist group more difficult, Aoun claimed.
"I told [Deputy United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan] Ortagus that Israel's presence in the five disputed points gives Hezbollah a pretext to keep its weapons," Aoun told the newspaper.
Lebanon’s leadership declared in recent days that the Lebanese Army has begun replacing Hezbollah forces in the country’s southern region.
In an April 15 interview with The New Arab, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced that 2025 would be the year of the Lebanese state's monopoly on arms.
Aoun pledged that only the state would have weapons, referring to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), and stressed this goal would be achieved through direct dialogue with Hezbollah, while explicitly ruling out steps that could ignite conflict with Hezbollah.
"I told the Americans that we want to remove Hezbollah's weapons, but we will not ignite a civil war in Lebanon," Aoun said, referencing a meeting with US Deputy Envoy Morgan Ortagus.
Aoun added that Hezbollah members could potentially integrate individually into the LAF but rejected replicating the Iraqi model where Shi'ite, Iranian-backed paramilitary groups formed independent units within the military. He asserted the LAF was conducting missions throughout the country "without any obstruction from Hezbollah."
Hezbollah member Mahmoud Qamat, however, responded by stating, “No one in the world will succeed in laying a hand on this weapon,” according to Lebanese media.
Hezbollah Member of Parliament Ali Fayyad stated the group was open to internal dialogue but warned against pressure on the LAF to disarm Hezbollah.
Col. (res.) Dr. Hanan Shai, a research associate at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy and a former investigator for the IDF’s commission on the 2006 Second Lebanon War, told JNS on Wednesday that statements by Lebanese officials and the activities of the Lebanese army are "unequivocally an achievement for Israel."
But Shai warned that due "the weakness of the Lebanese army, the IDF cannot rely on it and must back it up with its own parallel defense— mainly through detailed intelligence monitoring and targeted thwarting of any violation not only in Southern Lebanon but also [deep] within it, including at sea and air ports."
The fragility of the situation was highlighted when a LAF soldier was killed, and three others were wounded while attempting to neutralize suspected Hezbollah ordnance in the Tyre district of Southern Lebanon on April 14.
Hezbollah's real intentions were also apparent when its supporters reportedly burned billboards celebrating Lebanon's "new era."
Most tellingly, the Israel Defense Forces is continuing to detect intelligence of illegal Hezbollah activity in Southern Lebanon, and acting on that intelligence. Overnight between April 15 and 16, the IDF conducted strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in Southern Lebanon.
In one strike near Aitaroun in Southern Lebanon, an IDF aircraft killed Ali Najib Bazzi, identified by the IDF as a squad commander in Hezbollah's Special Operations unit. Other recent IDF actions included strikes and artillery fire targeting a Hezbollah engineering vehicle near Ayta ash-Shab in Southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, reports emerged suggesting Hezbollah was actively adapting its methods for acquiring weapons. Reports indicated a shift towards sea-based smuggling routes utilizing Beirut Port.
The Saudi Al-Hadath news site reported on April 8 that Iran's Quds Force created an arms smuggling sea route that bypasses Syria.
Amidst these reports, Aoun visited Beirut Port on April 11, calling for strict government cargo monitoring.
Karmon expresses skepticism
Senior research scholar Ely Karmon of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University in Herzliya stated, "There’s no doubt there’s a change in Lebanon, first of all on the political level— the fact that President Joseph Aoun was elected—supported by the West, the United States, Saudi Arabia."
In addition, he said, "Hezbollah’s political weight in parliament and in Lebanon in general has dropped significantly after the blow they received from the IDF."
On the other hand, Karmon expressed deep skepticism about Aoun's stated path to disarming Hezbollah. Aoun's statement that he "isn’t interested in coming to military confrontation with Hezbollah," and that it needs to be a "slow process," as well as his call for Hezbollah to enter Lebanese army units, should not be taken at face value, according to Karmon.
"I don’t really believe it. First of all, because traditionally, in the Lebanese Army, most of the soldiers were Shi’ites, for a simple demographic reason. And therefore, the integration of thousands of Hezbollah fighters or personnel into the army—certainly at this stage in my opinion—it’s a danger that they’ll take control of the army from within, after they’ve already for years cooperated with the army."
He added, "We know, for example, that they received weapons from the Lebanese Army—tanks and APCs—when they operated in Syria in 2013, 2010, and they even presented them publicly in Qusayr [in Syria]. On the other hand, we also heard one article from a Hezbollah representative who’s on their political committee, stating, 'Absolutely not, we will not give up the weapons!' It is clear there’ll be opposition."
Karmon said he was skeptical about Lebanese government claims about taking over around 95 out of some 250 Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon. Karmon assessed that Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsors would be cautious but that they would continue to try "as usual, to act and to bring in weapons, to prepare some infrastructure in case, for example, there is a crisis in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue."
