Rim ZreinJanuary 1, 2021
“The United States Government has longstanding concerns about Hezbollah‘s use of and influence over the Beirut port as a transit and storage point for its terrorist enterprise,” the resolution stated.
The resolution, which recognized the blast and expressed solidarity with the Lebanese people, was submitted on August 13th by the United States Committee on Foreign Relations.
It called on the Lebanese government to conduct a “credible, impartial, and transparent investigation” into the cause of, and responsibility for, the explosion. The resolution also urged to include objective international experts as part of the investigation team.
The resolution also highlighted the aid offered by the US for Lebanon just 3 days after the blast.
“Through the United States Agency for International Development, more than $15,000,000 in humanitarian assistance” will be provided to the Lebanese people.
It went on to clarify that “these funds have the capability of implementing life-saving medical responses and relief for the immediate needs of people struggling with the aftermath of the blast” and that “it can also support food aid for 50,000 people for three months and medical and pharmaceutical support for up to 60,000 people for three months.”
The resolution also emphasizes that “a stable Lebanon with a credible, transparent government free from Iranian and Hezbollah interference is in the broader national security interests of the United States and United States partners and allies.”
Meanwhile, a US federal court accepted a lawsuit filed in December to stop the US funding of the Lebanese Armed Forces on the basis of Hezbollah’s interference in the country’s military and the army’s violation of human rights on behalf of Hezbollah.
Content retrieved from: https://www.the961.com/us-senate-hezbollah-beirut-port-explosion/.