US promises continued support for Lebanon's army after Israeli claim it is 'no different from Hezbollah'

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman say 'they will all pay the full price' if any large-scale attack on Israel takes place

The Lebanese army near Ras Baalbek on the Syrian border, where it is fighting Isis (Getty)

The US has promised it will continue to support Lebanon’s military after Israel said the force was indistinguishable from Hezbollah, and so fair game in any future war.

The Lebanese army was a potential counterweight to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, a former US ambassador said.

It was a very public difference of opinion between senior officials which came on the same day at an Israeli security conference.

The Lebanese Armed Forces took no part in the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, which killed around 1,200 people in Lebanon and 158 Israelis. It has received more than $1.5bn (£1.06bn) in US military assistance since then and in the last seven years training and support from US special forces.

With Hezbollah having helped sway the Syrian civil war in President Bashar al-Assad’s favour, Israel and the US both worry it could now broaden its clout in its Lebanese heartland. They disagree on whether the Lebanese army would help or hinder Hezbollah’s expansion.

“We will sustain our efforts to support legitimate state security institutions in Lebanon, such as the Lebanese Armed Forces, which is the only legitimate force in Lebanon,” David Satterfield, acting assistant US secretary of state, told the conference organised by Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Sturdes (INSS) think-tank.

Mr Satterfield, a former US ambassador to Lebanon, added that the Lebanese army “could well serve as a counter-weight to Hezbollah’s desire to expand its own influence there, as well as Iran’s reach in Lebanon”.

But speaking three hours later on the same stage, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman reiterated his view that the Lebanese army was subordinate to the better-equipped Hezbollah.

“As far as I’m concerned, all of Lebanon – the Lebanese army, Lebanon and the Lebanese army – are no different from Hezbollah,” said Lieberman, a far-right member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative coalition government.

“They are part of Hezbollah and they will all pay the full price if any large-scale attack on Israel takes place," Mr Lieberman added.

The INSS conference coincided with heightened concern in Israel about what it describes as Iranian efforts to fit precision-guidance systems onto Hezbollah’s longer-range missiles – improvements that could potentially allow the fighters to knock out key Israeli infrastructure.

Israel’s public response has been to lobby Russia, which has some sway over Iran and Hezbollah because of their alliance in Syria. Israel has also issued explicit warnings that it would devastate Lebanon should Hezbollah launch another war.

There was no immediate response from Hezbollah or the Lebanese military to Mr Lieberman’s comments. Neither Hezbollah nor Iran has responded to the Israeli allegations about missile conversions.

The Lebanese military has previously said it operates independently from Hezbollah, most recently during an operation against Isis at the Lebanese-Syrian border last year.

Then the army said there was absolutely no coordination with Hezbollah fighters who attacked Isis from the Syrian side.

Mr Lieberman made similar remarks about the Lebanese military in October, diverging from more measured Israeli estimates that the Lebanese army maintained autonomy even if some of its troops cooperated with Hezbollah.

Reuters