WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Obama urged Lebanon’s new government to comply with a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the disarming of Hezbollah.
"We hope that the cabinet statement and government program will reflect a commitment to full implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1559, 1680, and 1701," the White House said in a statement Tuesday, a day after Western-leaning Prime Minister Saad Hariri formed the new government.
Resolution 1701, which ended Israel’s 2006 war with the Hezbollah terrorist group, calls for Hezbollah’s disarming. The group not only has resisted such calls but, according to Israeli and American intelligence, has massively rearmed.
Hariri’s new government includes Hezbollah ministers, including the foreign minister. Obama’s statement suggested that he would not work with Hezbollah, which the United States considers a proxy of Iran.
"The United States will stand by those partners who share our commitment to Lebanese sovereignty," the statement said. "We look forward to working with a new Lebanese government that is committed to extending its authority over all of Lebanon, and to advancing political and economic reforms that benefit the people of Lebanon."
