Currently Online 
Israel will hold Lebanon responsible if ceasefire collapses: Katz
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says if the ceasefire with Hezbollah collapses, the military will no longer differentiate between Lebanon and Hezbollah.
Katz, on a visit to the northern border, urged the Lebanese government to “authorize the Lebanese army to enforce their part, to keep Hezbollah away from the Litani and to dismantle all the infrastructure”.
“If the ceasefire collapses, there will be no more exemption for the state of Lebanon. We will enforce the agreement with maximum impact and zero tolerance,” he said. “If until now we have differentiated between Lebanon and Hezbollah, that will no longer be the case.”
His comments came less than a week after the armed group and Israel agreed to a 60-day ceasefire following a year of war. France, a member of an international committee in charge of surveying the implementation of the ceasefire, said Israel breached the truce more than 50 times.
Hezbollah fired on Tuesday a volley of projectiles as a warning over what it said were truce violations after which Israel unleashed a wave of air strikes, killing at least 12 people.
Netanyahu says war with Hezbollah not over
The Israeli prime minister says his country is currently in a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah group but adds that it is not the end of the war. He also said at the start of a cabinet meeting that Israel is enforcing the ceasefire with an iron fist, acting against any violation – minor or serious.
Both sides have accused each other of violations of the 60-day ceasefire, which entered into force on Wednesday.
Israel, Hezbollah ‘have to compromise’ on truce deal implementation: Ex-peace negotiator
Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli minister and peace negotiator, says there seem to be different interpretations of the Israeli-Hezbollah agreement.
He told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv that it is a positive fact that there is “a third party” in the agreement, which can warn the sides about breaches of the deal. “Hopefully, [the agreement] will continue in a different way, while each side understands what the limits are,” he added.
He stressed the violations of the deal have been on both sides since it entered into force last Wednesday. “It is a kindergarten. You have a teacher and the teacher may say to this guy, come back to the kindergarten and they will behave,” he said.
“These are not major issues. The major issue is the fact that eventually the parties agreed to have a ceasefire,” the former minister added. He stressed both sides compromised while making the deal and now they will have to compromise once again on the implementation.
12 more dead, not major issues... If it were 12 more Israeli deaths, it would be very major issues.
Lebanese army looks for more recruits to beef up presence in the south
The Lebanese army says those interested in joining up have one month to apply, starting today. The recruitment campaign comes as thousands of Lebanese soldiers are supposed to deploy in southern Lebanon during an initial 60-day truce between Israel and the Hezbollah armed group.
The Lebanese army has about 80,000 soldiers, with about 5,000 deployed in the south, where UN peacekeepers are also present.
Lebanese soldiers ride into Tyre after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, in Tyre, Lebanon, November 27
Mikati says diplomatic efforts ‘intensified’ to implement truce with Israel
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati says the ongoing “diplomatic contacts have been intensified” since yesterday to stop Israel’s violations of the ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.
According to the National News Agency, Lebanon’s official government news outlet, Mikati said the contacts also aim to implement Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese border towns.
“During these contacts, we stressed the priority of stabilising the situation for the return of the displaced people to their towns and regions, and expanding the army’s deployment in the south,” he said.
He added, “The army command’s announcement of the need to recruit trained soldiers into the army’s combat units falls within the context.”
