December 5, 2025
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy congratulates US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, for brokering a breakthrough in Lebanese-Israeli relations.
For the first time, Lebanese and Israeli citizen representatives sat across the table from each other and discussed the future of Lebanon and Lebanese-Israeli relations, thus changing the dynamic and scope of the issues discussed. Previous discussions had focused entirely on the military, specifically the disarming of Hezbollah and other militias in order to return the balance of power where it belongs – to the sovereign state of Lebanon.
By bringing in civilian stakeholders, Ms. Ortagus has allowed the discussions to broaden and deepen. Yassin K. Fawaz, writing in Arab Weekly describes the areas of discussion which have opened up due to Ms. Ortagus’ efforts as a “structural shift,” including:
- demarcation of outstanding border points
- legal and technical frameworks for weapons removal
- dismantlement of tunnel networks
- the political conditions for security normalisation
- reconstruction planning
- state-to-state dispute resolution channels
Israel supports the shift because it wants clarity.
Washington supports it because it wants durability.
Lebanon — or at least its formal institutions — supports it because the alternative is catastrophe.
As the Lebanese official who credited Ortagus with the breakthrough put it:
“Call it whatever you want. All I know is this: she made it happen.”
AMCD extends its full support for these efforts and desires to be of service in any way possible. We applaud Ms. Ortagus and join Arab Weekly in its praise and admiration for the US Envoy’s unprecedented breakthrough and steady progress in bringing together those stakeholders and decision-makers who can achieve real progress on the ground. This has the potential to elevate the lives of millions.
Bravo, Ms. Ortagus! AMCD salutes you.