Fatshimetrie recently highlighted the ongoing negotiations in Beirut led by US envoy Amos Hochstein to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah. The US-backed plan aims to establish a 60-day suspension of hostilities, presented as a basis for a lasting ceasefire, according to a Lebanese official.
The terms of the agreement are in line with UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel. The resolution stipulates that the only armed forces in the region south of the Litani River in Lebanon should be the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces.
The plan also calls for the withdrawal of Israeli ground forces, which have been operating in southern Lebanon since late September, and for stricter implementation of Resolution 1701, the official said.
However, sticking points remain. An Israeli source familiar with the talks doubted that an agreement would be reached soon, noting that Hezbollah’s refusal to accept Israel’s demand to be able to strike the group if it violates the ceasefire could jeopardize the process. Without that clause, the source said, it was unclear whether the Israeli prime minister would be able to secure cabinet approval for the deal.
Israeli Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that “full operational freedom” for the Israeli military in southern Lebanon was “non-negotiable.”
In response, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati dismissed reports that there were demands to grant the Israeli military operational freedom in southern Lebanon, calling it “speculation” and adding that he had not seen such a clause in the draft.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal party and is a key interlocutor in the talks, told Saudi media that the draft he received from the US did not mention operational freedom for the Israeli military in Lebanon, adding that the US knows that such a request would be “unacceptable.” Another Lebanese source familiar with the talks told CNN that President-elect Donald Trump has given his support to the ceasefire negotiations led by US envoy Amos Hochstein, increasing the chances of the initiative’s success.