Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, arrived in Beirut accompanied by Deputy Special Presidential Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus and U.S. senators.
He sought to reassure Hezbollah's supporters and the broader Shiite community that the Lebanese Army is preparing a plan to persuade Hezbollah to give up its weapons without sparking a civil war.
He also proposed creating an economic zone near the Israeli border aimed at generating jobs and sustainable livelihoods for those communities.
Speaking after a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Barrack said that Israel will respond "tit for tat, in exact cadence" to Lebanon's steps toward disarming Hezbollah, ensuring that the group "is not armed as an adversary against them."
"What Israel has now said, which is historic, is we don't want to occupy Lebanon... and are happy to withdraw from Lebanon," he said, adding that Israel was willing to meet Lebanon's "withdrawal expectations" once the plan to "actually disarm" Hezbollah is clear.
Israeli officials, he noted, will then "give their counter-proposal of what they will do in withdrawals and security guarantees on their border" and will meet Lebanon's disarming plan "step-by-step."
Lebanon has been urging the United States to pressure Israel to comply with the cease-fire agreement it brokered last November to end the 14-month-long Israel-Hezbollah war, calling on it to halt hostile actions, withdraw from five remaining occupied points in southern Lebanon and release Lebanese detainees captured during the conflict.
The latest appeal to Washington came after the Lebanese cabinet took a first step earlier this month by endorsing the objectives of a U.S.-proposed plan to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah and tasking the Army with preparing a strategy to enforce a state monopoly on weapons by the end of the year.
Lebanon's decision to set a timeline for Hezbollah disarmament was mainly motivated by the risk of another devastating war with Israel and of losing much-needed funds to rebuild its war-devastated regions.
Ortagus said Israel was willing "to go step-by-step. ... It might be small steps, baby steps."
Referring to Lebanon's "historic decision" on Hezbollah disarming, she said: "Now, it's not about words. Now, it's about action. So, every step that the Lebanese government takes, we will encourage the Israeli government to make the same step."
Barrack went a step further by proposing the creation of an economic zone in southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border, as a "substitute" for disarming Hezbollah, which he said represents 30% to 40% of the Lebanese population.
"We have 40,000 people who are being paid by Iran to fight. What are you going to do with them? You want to take their weapons and say, Good luck, go plant more olive trees?" he asked rhetorically.
He disclosed that Qatar and Saudi Arabia were willing to invest in the proposed economic zone "that will produce a livelihood" and "so, step-by-step, you take out the Iranian concern because you have another funding source, another life source."
The Hezbollah-Israel war killed or wounded more 21,500 people, displaced more than 1.2 million people and left border villages in southern Lebanon in ruins. According to the World Bank's estimate, Lebanon needs $11 billion for reconstruction and economic recovery, while Lebanese officials put it at more than $14 billion.
Hezbollah has continued to resist pressure to disarm. On Monday, its deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, firmly rejected disarmament of the group and the proposed "step-by-step" approach, insisting that Israel first must comply with the November 2024 cease-fire agreement before any discussions on a national defense strategy can begin.
On Tuesday, Amnesty International said that the Israeli military's "extensive and deliberate destruction" of civilian property and agricultural land across southern Lebanon "must be investigated as war crimes."
"The Israeli military's destruction of civilian homes, property and land in southern Lebanon rendered entire areas uninhabitable and ruined countless lives," said Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International's senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns.
"Where these acts of destruction were committed intentionally or recklessly, they must be investigated as war crimes," she said.
Barrack, who visited Israel and Syria before his talks in Beirut, also said Syrian President Ahmad Sharaa has no interest in having "an adversarial relationship" with Lebanon in any way.
"There's no Sunni fundamentalist cause that he's targeting, a weakness in Iran or a perceived weakness in Shiites as an opportunity for him," he said. He's looking at the historic relationship of hand -in- glove cooperation of what Lebanon and Syria could be ultimately. That's a fact."
After meeting with Barrack, Lebanese President Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam reiterated their country's commitment to the Nov. 27 cease-fire agreement and its exclusive control of weapons.
"The state's sole authority over decisions of war and peace has begun, and there is no turning back," Salam said in a statement.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the U.S. delegation, said that as Lebanon stands "at a point of change," Washington is ready to help revive its economy and support its military forces.
He proposed a U.S. defense agreement with Lebanon, calling it "the biggest change" in the country's history, aimed at "defending religious diversity" in the Middle East.
"Whether you are a Druze, Alawite or Christian or whatever, the idea that America may one day have a defense agreement with Lebanon changes Lebanon unlike any single thing I could think of," he said.
"I want to defend religious diversity. I want those who want to destroy religious diversity to understand your days are numbered."
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