US threats forcing Israel to accept Hezbollah truce: Report
The Times of Israel is reporting that the Israeli cabinet is set to approve a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, partly because it fears that the Biden administration could “punish” the country with a UN Security Council resolution in its final weeks.
The newspaper quoted an unnamed Israeli official. The official also said that Israel needs additional equipment from the US, including 134 D9 bulldozers – a reference to Washington’s decision earlier this month to freeze such shipments to its ally.
Still, the official said Israel was only accepting a cessation of hostilities, not an end to the war on Hezbollah. “We don’t know how long it will last,” the official said. “It could be a month, it could be a year.”
Israel wants a truce deal with Lebanon so it can focus on preparing Gaza for settlements, analyst says
Abed Abou Shhadeh, a political writer based in Jaffa, predicts that the Israeli cabinet will vote for a Lebanon ceasefire today with little opposition so the military can throw all its weight into the war in Gaza.
“There is an interest in pulling back militarily to focus on Gaza,” where the government’s main goal is to establish new “settlements”, he said. “There is no talk of any hostage deal in Gaza … What we are seeing on the ground in Gaza is preparation for settlements,” he added.
Hence the request for US D9 bulldozers...
What we know about the proposed Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal
As we’ve been reporting, the Israeli cabinet is set to meet later today to discuss a US-led proposal for a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
- Elias Bou Saab, Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker, told Reuters that the proposal would entail an Israeli military withdrawal from south Lebanon and regular Lebanese army troops deploying in the border region within 60 days.
- Implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, is included. It requires Hezbollah to pull back about 30 kilometres from the Israeli border, behind the Litani River.
- The establishment of a five-county committee, including France and chaired by the US, would ensure compliance with the ceasefire.
The text does not include Israel’s demand for the right to attack Lebanon if it believes Hezbollah is violating the deal’s terms, according to Israeli media reports. However, that demand is reportedly being addressed in a separate agreement between Israel and the US.
Israeli envoy says Lebanon ceasefire would ease restrictions on US arms shipments
Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to the US, has addressed a potential Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, which Israel’s cabinet plans to discuss this afternoon.
In comments carried by Israel’s Reshet Bet media, Herzog said the agreement under consideration – under which Hezbollah would agree to withdraw north of the Litani River – “provides space for easing restrictions on arms shipments from the United States to Israel”.
He stressed that Israel will “not allow Hezbollah to grow stronger on Israel’s border.”
However, Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, expressed opposition to any cessation of hostilities, saying it would give up a “historic opportunity to bring [Hezbollah] to their knees” and that Hezbollah would certainly “return and rearm”.
“A war should end when we defeat the other side,” said Ben-Gvir, also quoted by Reshet Bet.
Under the terms of the ceasefire proposal, Lebanese armed forces would move south of the Litani River to protect the border with Israel. The agreement would also come with a US enforcement mechanism to ensure Hezbollah steers clear of the border, according to Israeli media reports.
