Israel and Lebanon try a test ceasefire, but Hezbollah won't leave
Washington brokered a deal to get Israel out of southern Lebanon, starting with tiny test zones, but almost nobody actually controls the guys with the rockets.
Washington managed to get Israel and Lebanon to sign onto a phased withdrawal plan starting in two small trial zones along the border. Half a million displaced civilians immediately started flooding back into destroyed towns, which sounds like great news until you look at who is actually on the ground.
Israel is hesitant to pull out before its upcoming elections and prefers a completely cleared border strip. Meanwhile, the Lebanese army is supposed to step in and disarm Hezbollah, but Hezbollah flat-out rejected the agreement and is backed by Iran, which isn't giving up its favorite proxy without getting something major from the U.S. first.
Joseph Aoun is heading to the White House to ask Donald Trump for pressure on Israel, while Lebanon tries to enforce a peace deal against a heavily armed militia inside its own borders.
Trying to sign a peace deal when the military proxy occupying the border region answers to a completely different country is certainly one way to run foreign policy.
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