US pushing for end to conflict between Israel and Hezbollah
2/11/2024 5:49
A U.S. official asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral
ceasefire with Israel to revive stalled talks to end
Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities, a senior Lebanese political
source and a senior diplomat said - a claim denied by both
sides.
The sources said the request was made by U.S. envoy Amos
Hochstein to Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati this
week, as the U.S. stepped up diplomacy in search of a ceasefire
between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
In a statement to Reuters, Mikati's office denied the U.S.
had asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral truce. It said the
government's stance was clear on seeking a mutual ceasefire and
implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which
ended the last round of conflict between the two foes in 2006.
A U.S. official also denied such a proposal had been made.
"The U.S. is working with both parties to achieve an enduring
ceasefire. Senior (White House) officials visited both Lebanon
and Israel in the last several days to advance this effort," the
official said.
The sources said the U.S. sought to persuade Beirut to take
back some initiative in the talks, particularly given the
perception that Israel will likely continue military operations
that have already killed most of Hezbollah's leadership and laid
waste to swathes of Lebanon's south.
Lebanon's armed forces are not involved in the hostilities
between Israel and Hezbollah, which began firing rockets at
Israel a year ago in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas
in Gaza.
Any effort to reach a ceasefire would need a green light
from Hezbollah, which has ministers in Lebanon's cabinet and
whose members and allies hold a significant number of seats in
parliament.
Diplomats mediate with Hezbollah through the group's ally,
Lebanese speaker of parliament Nabih Berri. Hezbollah has said
it supports efforts by Berri to reach a ceasefire but that it
must meet certain unspecified parameters.
But the sources acknowledged that a unilateral declaration
would probably be seen as a non-starter in Lebanon, where it
would likely be equated with surrender to Israel.
DIPLOMATIC INITIATIVE
Another diplomat told Reuters that Hochstein had made a
similar proposal months ago to Mikati and Berri.
Hochstein told them, according to the diplomat, that if
Hezbollah unilaterally declared a ceasefire, he "could have
something to present" to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu as a diplomatic initiative.
"His exact words were, 'help me, help you," the diplomat
said, adding that then-Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah rejected
the idea. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli air attack on Sept.
27 on Beirut's southern suburbs.
Despite its losses, Hezbollah has maintained that its chain
of command is intact and its fighters have kept at bay Israeli
forces making ground incursions into Lebanon.
Israel says it is undertaking limited ground operations to
destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and degrade the group's
fighting capacities.
The U.S. has been pushing for a 60-day ceasefire between
Hezbollah and Israel as a prelude to a fuller implementation of
U.N. Resolution 1701, sources told Reuters this week.
Hochstein was in Israel on Thursday with White House envoy
Brett McGurk, but they did not continue on to Lebanon.
Speaking about Lebanon on Thursday, Netanyahu said that
"agreements, documents, proposals....are not the main point."
He added: "The main point is our ability and determination
to enforce security, thwart attacks against us, and act against
the arming of our enemies, as necessary and despite any pressure
and constraints. This is the main point."
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