Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told journalists Monday that progress on a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon depended on Israel’s security demands, so that Israelis evacuated from the border region can return to their homes.
Reports in the media have speculated about progress toward a ceasefire. The U.S. presented Lebanon with its proposals for a ceasefire last week, and Iran — which arms and funds Hezbollah — appeared to give Lebanon the nod to reach an agreement to end a war in which Iran’s military and terrorist capabilities have been decimated.
The deal would reportedly involve a return to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006, which ended the Second Lebanon War. That resolution required Hezbollah to withdraw from the border, northward of the Litani River, and also requires Hezbollah to be disarmed. However, the resolution has never been enforced — neither by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), nor by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeping outfit.
The new ceasefire proposal reportedly includes new mechanisms for enforcement, including Israel’s right to cross into Lebanon in future to defend itself against Hezbollah and remove it from the border, if necessary.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that that provision remained a sticking point in the talks between the various parties.
Asked about progress during a daily briefing by the Israeli prime minister’s office, Mencer said:
“When it comes to Lebanon, you know that our aim … is to get our people home, to get the rocket fire stopped, the mortars stopped, the UAVs stopped.
“So on negotiations for a ceasefire in Lebanon, the United States and other countries are leading the negotiations to return quiet to the north.
“But I’ll be very straight with you: the military campaign will continue until the immediate threat from Lebanon is removed, and our people, Israelis living in their own sovereign territory, in their own homes, can safely return to their homes. That’s when the conflict will end in our north, and not a moment before.”
It is unclear whether the Biden-Harris administration’s envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, will return to the region this week.
President-elect Donald Trump’s unofficial envoy to Lebanon is Massad Boulous, a Lebanese-American businessman who led Arab American outreach for the Trump campaign. Trump has promised to end the war in Lebanon quickly.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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