US envoy: Washington can not compel Israel in Lebanon border dispute

US special envoy Thomas Barrack stated on July 21 that the United States cannot force Israel to take any specific action in the ongoing conflict with Lebanon, emphasising that Washington can only play an advisory role.

“The U.S. has no business in trying to compel Israel to do anything... America could only influence,” Barrack said during a press conference in Beirut, Caliber.Az reports via Reuters.

His comments come amid heightened tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border, where Beirut has repeatedly called on Washington to press Israel to withdraw from its five locations.

Barrack also addressed the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons, saying the matter falls within Lebanon’s domestic affairs.

“The disarmament of Hezbollah is an internal Lebanese issue,” he said, noting that the US would act only as a “mediator and adviser.”

“We are not going to have more boots on the ground in an adversarial nature anywhere,” Barrack added, underlining Washington’s reluctance to deepen military involvement in the region.

By Sabina Mammadli