US envoy meets with Lebanon’s parliament speaker
Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to US President Biden who has been repeatedly dispatched to the Middle East for Israel-Lebanon mediation, is back in Lebanon for another round of talks.
After meeting with Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, Hochstein was asked at a media conference whether he thought war between Israel and Lebanon could be averted.
“I hope so, I believe so,” he replied.
Hochstein also told journalists that he and Berri discussed “the framework agreement that’s on the table for a Gaza ceasefire”. They both “agreed there is no more time to waste and there’s no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay”, he said.
Speaking at his Beirut press conference, Hochstein stressed that a potential Gaza ceasefire deal could pave the way for a “diplomatic resolution” in Lebanon that prevents regional conflagration.
“We have to take advantage of this window for diplomatic action and diplomatic solutions. That time is now,” said Hochstein. “The more time goes by of escalated tensions … the more the odds and the chances go up for accidents, for mistakes, for inadvertent targets to be hit that could easily cause escalation that gets out of control.”
He added: “Here in Lebanon we believe we can get to (the) end of the conflict now, today. We recognise that there are those who want to tie it to other conflicts. That is not our position,” Hochstein said.
“We continue to believe that a diplomatic resolution is achievable because we continue to believe that no one truly wants a full-scale war between Lebanon and Israel.”
Israel-Lebanon border clashes expected to continue
The US envoy [Amos Hochstein] stressed the urgent need to bring about a diplomatic solution because of what he described as escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah along their border. He says this can be achievable, but he also knows there can be no diplomatic settlement until there is a permanent end to the war on Gaza, which has been Hezbollah’s position since October.
Hezbollah does not see the US as an honest broker in this conflict. Hezbollah believes that every time he [Hochstein] comes here, he relays threatening messages from the Israelis. Hezbollah has made it clear that they do not want all-out war. Yes, they want to retaliate for the killing of their top military commander, but they have repeatedly said that they did not open this front to destroy Israel, but to help Gaza.
So, the hostilities along the border are expected to continue, but whether or not they will widen will all depend on what kind of a response Hezbollah takes.
