US envoy Hochstein to hold ceasefire talks during Lebanon visit: Report
Reuters news agency reports that Amos Hochstein will hold talks with Lebanese officials in Beirut on conditions for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Quoting two sources familiar with the matter, the news agency said Hochstein is set to meet Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri when he returns to the Lebanese capital on Monday.
Berri told the Al Arabiya broadcaster over the weekend that Hochstein’s visit was “the last chance before the US elections” to reach a ceasefire. He also said he would reject any amendments to United Nations resolution 1701, which ended the last bloody conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
The Axios news site, quoting two US officials and two Israeli officials, reported earlier that Israel has demanded – in a ceasefire proposal shared with the US – that its air force have freedom of operation in Lebanese airspace, and its ground forces be allowed to engage in “active enforcement” inside Lebanese territory to prevent Hezbollah locating on the border with Israel.
Little trust in Lebanon of US as ‘honest broker’ as Washington’s envoy set to arrive
Nobody in Lebanese political society particularly trusts the Americans as an honest broker. They publicly say, they privately say, that the Americans are backing Israel all the way with political cover, military support, and huge numbers of weapons.
So they are wondering what the US envoy Amos Hochstein is bringing to the table. The Lebanese government, the interim prime minister and senior politicians – he’ll be meeting with those people. But what’s actually on the table is going to be interesting.
The Lebanese, for their part, generally speaking, with Hezbollah also in agreement, want to go back to the peace deal that was on the table in 2006. It’s still there. All of the details have been hashed out. And if they go back to that, they say Hezbollah will respect it and comply.
But what we are hearing from Israeli sources is that Israel wants to change that deal, and they want to have over-fly rights when it comes to Lebanon. They want to be able to patrol the skies of Lebanon with military aircraft.
US special envoy delivers statement
Hochstein says linking Lebanon’s fate to other conflicts in the region is not in the interest of the people of Lebanon.
The US special envoy added at a news conference in Beirut that a resolution to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is possible but the situation has escalated “out of control as we feared that it could”.
The US government wants to ensure this is the last conflict in Lebanon for generations, he added. “The US wants to end this conflict as soon as possible, and that’s what we’re working on. We are working with the state of Lebanon and Israel to bring a formula to end this conflict once and for all. The commitment that we have is to resolve the conflict based on UN Resolution 1701,” Hochstein said referring to a 2006 Security Council resolution that calls for a halt to fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
Hochstein said a settlement is needed based on UN Resolution 1701 of 2006 but stressed the warring sides committing to the deal “is not enough” to solve the problem. He said: “1701 was successful in ending the war in 2006, but we must be honest that nobody did anything to implement it. The lack of implementation over those years contributed to the conflict we are in today.”
“That must change because both sides simply committing to 1701 is just not enough.”
The resolution calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any soldiers or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.
One sided again of course
"Lebanon has also accused Israel of not fully withdrawing from Lebanese territories (northern part of Ghajar village, the Shebaa Farms, and the Kfarchouba hills), and of violating their air and maritime borders."
Here's the full text of UN Resolution 1701
https://unsco.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/s_res_17012006.pdf
‘Hochstein really echoed statements by Israeli officials’
During Amos Hochstein’s six missions to Lebanon, the US administration tried to convince Hezbollah to delink the Lebanon front from the Gaza war because Hezbollah was saying, “We will not stop rocket fire until there is a permanent end to the war on Gaza.”
Since Israel’s offensive began in mid-September, Hezbollah has made clear they’ve now delinked this front and they’ll be ready for a ceasefire.
But what Hochstein said really echoed statements by Israeli officials in the sense that UN Resolution 1701 has not been implemented. It was adopted in the aftermath of the 2006 war and called for an area along the border to be free of arms and fighters outside the state’s control.
Both the US and Israel are now saying neither the Lebanese army nor the UN peacekeeping force deployed along the border did anything to prevent Hezbollah’s military build-up. So, UN Resolution 1701 will be the basis for this negotiation. He did not talk about amending this resolution.
