The aftermath of an Israeli strike on southern Beirut Nov 2024<\/p>\n
There is a new US plan for a \u201cclampdown\u201d on Beirut\u2019s southern suburb, which could potentially see the area come under the control of a foreign or Arab security force, according to a report released by Al-Akhbar<\/em><\/a> newspaper on 27 August.<\/p>\n The southern suburb, a strong base of support for Hezbollah, was heavily bombarded by Israel during its brutal war on Lebanon last year. The suburb has been repeatedly hit by airstrikes since the ceasefire took effect.<\/p>\n According to Al-Akhbar<\/em>, the plan aims to \u201ctreat the southern suburbs just like Palestinian refugee camps.\u201d<\/p>\n The 1969 Cairo Agreement for years allowed Palestinian groups a degree of autonomy over refugee camps in Lebanon. Despite the agreement being declared null in the 1980s, the status of the camps has remained more or less the same.<\/p>\n However, Lebanese troops maintain checkpoints and a heavy presence around the camps. Palestinian camps in Lebanon have recently begun a symbolic disarmament process in line with the state\u2019s efforts to monopolize control of weapons in the country.<\/p>\n The Al-Akhbar<\/em> report frames the new US plan as part of Washington\u2019s broader goal of disarming Hezbollah, which the Lebanese government vowed to achieve in a cabinet session in early August.<\/p>\n \u201cThe US proposal envisions checkpoints at all entrances [of the Beirut suburb], thorough searches of individuals and vehicles, and a tight control on goods, materials, and money flows. This mission would not be handed to the Lebanese army. Instead, the plan calls for a foreign security force, possibly an Arab one, to take on the task,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Al-Akhbar<\/em> also said the plan falls in line with US efforts to \u201cempty the southern border region.\u201d<\/p>\n A recent report<\/a> by Axios\u00a0<\/em>said there is a US plan for a \u201cTrump economic zone\u201d near the southern border, aimed at preventing Hezbollah from re-establishing its presence there. The report said this would happen with the help of Gulf financing.<\/p>\n During a press conference in Lebanon\u2019s Presidential Palace on Tuesday, US envoy Tom Barrack<\/a> confirmed plans for the economic zone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to have money coming into the system. The money will come from the Gulf. Qatar and Saudi Arabia are partners and are willing to do that for the south (of Lebanon) if we\u2019re asking a portion of the Lebanese community to give up their livelihood,\u201d Barrack said<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have 40,000 people that are being paid by Iran to fight. What are you gonna do with them? Take their weapon and say \u2018by the way, good luck planting olive trees?\u2019 It can\u2019t happen. We have to help them,\u201d he added, referring to Hezbollah members.<\/p>\n \u201cWe, all of us, the Gulf, the US, the Lebanese are all gonna act together to create an economic forum that is gonna produce a livelihood,\u201d he went on to say.<\/p>\n This economic zone reportedly serves as an ethnic cleansing plan to remove residents of the southern border villages and prevent the return of those already displaced from there.<\/p>\n Lebanese MP and former head of Lebanon\u2019s General Security Directorate Jamil al-Sayyed said in a post last week that \u201cEnvoy Tom Barrack has received the Israeli response to his mediation over the south.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe response included a ceasefire, the handing over of prisoners, and border demarcation, according to the following conditions: Lebanon must grant Israel the right to remain inside 14 villages and to fully or partially evacuate their residents. The villages Israel demanded in their entirety are: Odaisseh, Kfar Kila, Houla, Markaba, and Aita al-Shaab. The villages where Israel demanded to establish permanent military sites on their outskirts and forests are: Khiam, Ramiya, Yaroun, Aitaroun, Alma al-Shaab, Al-Dhayra, Marwahin, Maroun al-Ras, and Blida,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this news is true, and becomes official tomorrow or soon, it may be celebrated in our country as an \u2018achievement\u2019 similar to yesterday\u2019s celebration over the symbolic handover of weapons in Burj al-Barajneh camp,\u201d Sayyed went on to say.<\/p>\n