The White House will send $95 million to Lebanon, citing regional security, while looking at human rights concerns in Egypt, Reuters reports.
The United States plans to redirect to Lebanon $95 million in military aid that was originally allocated to Egypt, according to an unconfirmed news agency report.
The State Department’s notification to Congress of the planned change, Reuters news agency reported on Monday, names the Lebanese Armed Forces as a “key partner” in holding the November 27, 2024. Israeli-Lebanese agreement end hostilities and prevent Hezbollah from threatening Israel.
The move came after some of President Joe Biden’s Democratic colleagues expressed deep concern about Egypt’s human rights record, particularly the arrest of thousands of political prisoners.
The content of the document remains unconfirmed. Neither the State Department nor the Egyptian embassy in Washington immediately responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
In September, the US State Department’s digital publication announced that the Biden administration would cancel human rights conditions on military aid to Egypt in order to give Cairo the full allocation of $1.3 billion. The total included $95 million tied specifically to progress in the release of political prisoners.
The notice reportedly did not identify the $95 million as those funds, but a congressional aide said he did not believe the amount was a coincidence.
Egypt has been a key partner in the Biden administration’s efforts to get more aid to Gaza and has helped mediate the so-far unsuccessful efforts to secure a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
The September decision to award money to Egypt drew objections from within Congress, including Democratic senators Chris Murphy and Chris Coons, both senior members of the Foreign Relations Committee, who released a joint statement condemning the decision.
According to the State Department document, the funds would be available to professionalize the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), strengthen border security, fight terrorism and address security requirements affected by regime change in Syria.
“The United States remains Lebanon’s security partner of choice, and U.S. support to the LAF directly assists in the security of Lebanon and the broader Levant region,” the statement said.
Supporting Lebanese army it could also help ensure that Syria’s transition is not disrupted by Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah, which previously played a major role in supporting al-Assad during the Syrian civil war.
Under US law, Congress has 15 days to oppose the reallocation of military aid, but a congressional aide familiar with the process commented that he expected lawmakers to welcome the administration’s transfer of funds to Lebanon.
“This is a way of saying, ‘This funding that Egypt really didn’t deserve and doesn’t need, let’s reprogram it and put this in a better place,'” the aide told Reuters.
