Ortagus due in Lebanon this week to discuss Israel's withdrawal

U.S. deputy special envoy for Middle East peace Morgan Ortagus is due to visit Beirut this week, local media reports said, in her second visit to Lebanon since her appointment.

The visit will focus on Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon on Feb. 18, al-Joumhouria newspaper said Wednesday.

The troops withdrawal, initially set for Jan. 26, was extended to Feb. 18, with Israel reportedly asking for another extension to the deadline.

In her previous visit last week, Ortagus hoped Lebanese authorities were committed to making sure that Hezbollah isn't a part of the new government in any form, adding that she is "grateful" to "ally Israel" for defeating Hezbollah. Her remarks drew backlash from many in Lebanon who saw them as meddling in internal Lebanese affairs, while Lebanon’s presidency said that Ortagus expressed her point of view, and that the Presidency is not concerned with it. Despite her remarks, Hezbollah did engage in negotiations with the new prime minister over the Shiite Muslim seats in government, as per Lebanon’s power-sharing system.

Ortagus, a former U.S. State Department spokesperson and U.S. Navy Reserve officer, recently assumed the role of deputy special envoy for Middle East peace in President Donald Trump’s administration, replacing Amos Hochstein, who played a key role in brokering the November 27 ceasefire that ended more than a year of hostilities, including two months of all-out war.

Under the deal, Lebanon's military was to deploy in the south alongside U.N. peacekeepers as Israel withdrew over 60 days. Hezbollah was also to pull back north of the Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

Ortagus said last week that Washington was "very committed" to the new withdrawal date.

Israel is meanwhile reportedly seeking to further extend the withdrawal deadline date and to keep an army presence at five key border points to enable the maintenance of a buffer zone.

Lebanon has rejected the request, suggesting that UNIFIL forces or the Lebanese Army and committee monitors deploy in the five points mentioned by Israel, local media reports said.