BEIRUT — Hezbollah’s chief stated Wednesday that the group had delivered its response to the US proposal for a cease-fire deal that might finish the continued Israeli struggle in Lebanon, however cautioned that the last word resolution rests with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The cessation of combating relies on the Israeli response and Netanyahu’s seriousness,” Hezbollah Secretary Basic Naim Qassem stated in a televised speech on Wednesday. “If negotiations fail, we’ll proceed to combat. We’re succesful and we’ll endure.”
In his third speech since assuming the management of the Iran-backed occasion final month, Qassem stated the group has agreed to barter through parliament speaker Nabih Berri. He confirmed that Hezbollah acquired the brand new US proposal for a cease-fire, learn it rigorously and made some remarks that have been submitted to US envoy Amos Hochstein.
“Let it’s recognized that our negotiations are underneath the title of fully stopping the [Israeli] aggression and preserving Lebanese sovereignty,” he burdened.
Washington delivered a recent proposal to Lebanese officers final week. Leaked info revealed that the brand new draft requires the complete implementation of UN Decision 1701, which ended the 2006 struggle between Israel and Hezbollah, and the institution of a world monitoring committee to make sure its implementation.
The brand new US proposal additionally stresses Israel’s undisputed proper to intervene in Lebanon in case of decision violations in addition to the dismantlement of Hezbollah’s navy infrastructure not solely south of the Litani River but additionally in areas to its north.
Hezbollah entered the struggle on Oct. 8 of final yr in solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Final month Israel launched an invasion into Lebanon geared toward halting Hezbollah rocket hearth and permitting displaced residents to return to the north.
Whereas Hezbollah has refused over the past yr to decouple negotiations on Lebanon from Gaza, Qassem didn’t hyperlink the negotiations in Lebanon to a cease-fire with Hamas.
“We’re honored to be among the many few who help Gaza together with Iraq, Yemen and Iran whereas the entire world is watching. We have been eager to supply help to Gaza, considering the circumstances in Lebanon,” Qassem stated in his speech. “We led two battles: the primary to help Gaza, and the second to repel the Israeli aggression on Lebanon.”
His speech coincided with Hochstein’s two-day go to to Beirut, the place he met with Lebanese officers to push for a cease-fire cope with Israel.
Hochstein is predicted to journey to Israel in a while Wednesday and is scheduled to fulfill Netanyahu on Thursday.
On post-war Lebanon, Qassem talked about three factors that Hezbollah is prepared to decide to. “We are going to effectively supply our contribution to elect a president of the republic through parliament,” he stated.
Of observe, Lebanon has been with no president since October 2022 as a consequence of political bickering among the many varied rival forces within the nation.
US push for cease-fire
Hochstein met with Berri to finalize particulars on a recent US proposal for a truce.
In a quick assertion to reporters after his assembly, Hochstein stated that he made “extra progress” in his talks with Berri on Wednesday, including that he’ll head to Israel within the subsequent couple of hours in a bid to succeed in a remaining settlement.
He stated he is not going to reveal particulars of the negotiations, as some events he didn’t identify could also be disillusioned.
After one other assembly between the 2 on Tuesday, Hochstein stated a deal was “inside our grasp,” whereas Berri stated the scenario was “good in precept.”
The US envoy additionally held talks with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and navy chief Joseph Aoun in addition to with Samir Geagea, the top of the Lebanese Forces, one of many largest Christian events in Lebanon.
A number of sticking factors within the US deal stay between Israel and Hezbollah, together with the members of the worldwide committee that might be established underneath a possible deal and tasked with monitoring the implementation of UN Decision 1701.
Iran-backed Hezbollah reportedly rejected Israel’s proposal that Germany and the UK be a part of the committee. In accordance with sources cited by the native LBCI station, the committee will encompass Lebanon, Israel, France, america and the UN peacekeeping power in Lebanon, UNIFIL.
One other hurdle is Israel’s insistence on the appropriate to intervene inside Lebanese territory in case of violation of any deal — a clause that Lebanon considers a violation of its sovereignty. In accordance with unnamed sources cited by LBCI, the brand new deal would grant each Lebanon and Israel the appropriate to self-defense in case of assault from one another.
