‘Change of tone’ from Lebanon’s PM Mikati over possibility of ceasefire with Israel
In the attempts to try and forge some ceasefire in Lebanon, there has been very much a change of tone certainly coming from the Lebanese government.
The Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati yesterday said that he was cautiously optimistic of some sort of ceasefire agreement or a draft, at least, being discussed, towards some sort of agreement.
Today, his language was very different. He said that Israel’s forced evacuation of towns and cities in Lebanon was tantamount to war crimes. And he said the continuous Israeli threats do not inspire optimism.
Overnight Israeli bombing of Beirut follows ‘failed attempt at diplomacy’
It coincided with a failed diplomatic attempt, if you like. US envoys Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk were in Israel on Thursday where they held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Usually, when they hold talks in Israel, they visit Beirut afterwards. This time they did not, which is really a clear indication that there is no progress or breakthrough. And nobody was expecting a breakthrough because of Israel’s demands.
Netanyahu made it very, very clear yesterday that any deal needs to be enforced for Israel’s security. What Israel wants is to be able to act freely – even after a ceasefire – to target Hezbollah when it sees threats or violations.
That is being interpreted here as a deal of surrender and this is something that Hezbollah is not accepting, neither is the Lebanese state.
Renewed attacks on Beirut signal Israeli rejection of ceasefire: Mikati
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati has criticised Israel’s “expansion” of its attacks on his country, saying it indicates the Israeli rejection of a ceasefire after more than a month of war.
“[Israel’s] repeated threats to the population to evacuate entire cities and villages, and its renewed targeting of the southern suburbs of Beirut with destructive raids, are all indicators that confirm the Israeli enemy’s rejection of all efforts being made to secure a ceasefire,” Mikati said in a statement.
Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal unlikely before US election: Analyst
There are no signs that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is either ready or willing to reach a ceasefire deal with Lebanon before the US elections, according to analyst Akiva Eldar.
“He is praying and putting his bets on the victory of former President Trump, and he believes that once this happens, he will be able to manipulate the president,” Eldar told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.
He was referring to several examples from Trump’s presidency when the Israeli government was able to sway the US government towards policies that favoured it, including ending the Iran nuclear deal and vetoing a resolution that deemed Israeli settlements illegal.
“There is another deadline for Netanyahu, and this is [in] the first week of December when he will have to start testifying in his corruption trial, and he will do anything to avoid it,” Eldar added.
“And the best excuse or pretext that he has … [is that] he is busy with multi-frontier wars and he shouldn’t waste his time in court, because we’re talking about looking at four days a week for at least six weeks that he will have to spend in court.”
