Israeli media have leaked details concerning a proposal to reach a temporary ceasefire agreement for two months with Hezbollah, ahead of reaching a comprehensive deal in Lebanon.
Channel 12 Hebrew reported that American envoy Amos Hochstein is visiting the Middle East, and Israel is seeking to achieve a comprehensive deal in Lebanon. This would entail halting the expansion of ground operations in exchange for U.S. support for a maritime, aerial, and land embargo on Lebanon to prevent the military rehabilitation and rearming of Hezbollah.
The channel mentioned that “the Lebanon deal aims to stop the firing for 60 days, during which the details of the full agreement will be discussed,” noting that “Tel Aviv” intends to adhere to the condition of the maritime, land, and air embargo on Lebanon, so it has the capability and freedom to respond to any breach and attack from any location.
It continued, “The two-month truce is an opportunity to agree on the details of the full settlement and the mechanisms for its implementation and the international decisions needed to reach an agreement,” adding that “the new agreement will be more effective than the previous Resolution 1701, which was violated shortly after its issuance.”
Lebanese newspaper “Al-Akhbar” quoted diplomatic sources saying that “what the Hebrew channel leaked undermines the efforts that the United States claims to be making to push for a ceasefire,” confirming that “it is impossible for Lebanon to accept this, as it means imposing a siege on it to accept a ceasefire, which is madness.”
The sources indicated that this means that “Hochstein might not visit Lebanon,” noting that “Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri informed him in his last visit that if there are no serious developments confirming an Israeli intent to stop the firing, there is no need for his coming to Beirut.”
The sources confirmed that what the Israeli channel leaked can be interpreted as a two-way path. The first is that the occupation is raising its conditions to the maximum, after Hezbollah regained the initiative in the field, allowing it to impose its other conditions related to the mechanisms for implementing Resolution 1701, trying to circumvent American pressure until the date of the elections, to know which administration it will deal with…
The second is that “Israel” is not in a position to stop the war definitively; at least in the foreseeable future, especially since it sees that it has not achieved all it wants, according to what was reported by “Al-Akhbar” newspaper, which is close to Hezbollah.
