Report: US presses Doha to drop south rebuilding from aid package

U.S. pressure has prompted Qatar to drop an article on reconstructing a number of southern towns from the Qatari aid package that was announced on Monday, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

“The U.S. is still preventing the Lebanese government from launching an official call for reconstruction or establishing a fund for the contributions of donor countries, linking this step to the fulfillment of an Israeli demand for the disarmament of Hezbollah across Lebanon,” an informed source told the daily.

Iraq had tried in May to push for setting up an Arab fund for reconstructing what was destroyed by Israel in Lebanon and Gaza, but the proposal was rejected. The Lebanese government also snubbed an Iraqi suggestion for opening the door to receiving aid dedicated to reconstruction.