May 2, 2021
Lebanon-Israel Maritime Border Talks to Resume
France Imposes Sanctions on Lebanese Political Figures
CENTCOM Commander Notes Emerging Crises in the Middle East

Lebanon-Israel Martitime Border Talks to Resume
On May 3, US Ambassador John Desrocher and his team will travel to Lebanon to lead mediation efforts between Lebanon and Israel. The two countries will be resuming martitime border talks from last October. The talks will continue at Naqoura, the southern Lebanese city where UNIFIL maintains its headquarters. [Al Monitor]

ANALYSIS

“Some Lebanon-watchers are concerned that the resumption of the maritime border talks is a distraction from the more critical need for Lebanon to address their urgent humanitarian and economic concerns. Progress on this file will be seen as both a goodwill effort by the government to engage their long-term enemy Israel, and keep Lebanon’s issues on the international agenda. Rather than being distracted, the international community should take advantage of the international attention from the maritime negotiations to press for a government accountable to the Lebanese citizens and to support the urgent need for humanitarian assistance.”
-ATFL President Edward M. Gabriel

France Imposes Sanctions on Lebanese Political Figures
On Thursday France announced it will be imposing sanctions a list of Lebanese political leaders that has not been released publicly yet. The sanctions will include travel restrictions to French territory as well as frozen assets. They are being imposed on those accused of obstructing Lebanon’s government formation and those involved in corruption. [Al Jazeera]

ANALYSIS

“A consensus is forming. The traditional power-keepers in Lebanon will face increased pressure on their personal financial resources and ability to transact business internationally if they do not immediately take steps to resolve the impasse in government formation. Voices inside Lebanon have become increasingly public about the need for sanctions. Will these pressures have an effect or will be oligarchs just move their resources into less visible options?”
-ATFL Policy Director Jean AbiNader

CENTCOM Commander Notes Emerging Crises in the Middle East
On Tuesday US Central Command Commander General Kenneth McKenzie identified extremist groups’ proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles and humanitarian crises in the Middle East as the two most urgent on the horizon. Gen. McKenzie called for cooperation with allies and partners like NATO to bring a regional solution. He noted growing efforts from China and Russia to extend influence in the region. [Eurasia Review]

ANALYSIS

“As the Biden Administration fine-tunes its Middle East security policies, it is clear that ignoring the region, withdrawing from Afghanistan, compromising with Iran, holding up arms sales to the Gulf, and the rest will not make US interests in the region and beyond more secure. Equally clear is that this is not a chess game as each player has their own rules so expecting reciprocity may turn out to be wishful thinking – fantasies that our friends in Lebanon fear will lead to their sovereignty being sacrificed for nothing more than a lull in the tension.”
-ATFL Policy Director Jean AbiNader

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a non-profit, nonpartisan leadership organization of Lebanese-Americans.