U.S. hands Lebanon ceasefire proposal

15/11/2024 6:05

        The U.S. ambassador to
        Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon's speaker of
        parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between
        armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told
        Reuters, without revealing details.
        
        The U.S. has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end
        hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah,
        but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a
        stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after
        cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.
        
        U.S. ambassador Lisa Johnson met with Berri, a Hezbollah
        ally and the typical conduit for diplomacy with the group, on
        Thursday to submit Washington's first written proposal in at
        least several weeks, two senior Lebanese political sources said.
        
        "It is a draft to get observations from the Lebanese
        side," one of the sources told Reuters. Neither source could
        provide details on the contents of the proposal.
        
        There was no immediate comment from the U.S. embassy in
        Beirut.
        
        Truce initiatives so far have centered around better
        implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution
        1701, which ended the last round of conflict between Hezbollah
        and Israel in 2006 and stipulates that southern Lebanon must be
        free of arms that do not belong to the Lebanese state.
        
        Draft proposals leaked in recent weeks include details
        on a monitoring mechanism that could involve other countries.
        
        Lebanon has endorsed 1701 as the way out of the current
        conflict. Israel, however, has demanded that it retain the right
        to carry out any targeting of Hezbollah if it violates the
        provisions of the truce or poses a threat to Israel.
        
        Lebanese officials say that "direct enforcement" by
        Israel has not been formally floated to Lebanon, but that it
        would be rejected by Beirut.
        
        "The idea that Israel can enforce at any time - that is
        unthinkable," one of the political sources said on Thursday.