Reuters: Lebanon, Hezbollah Agree To U.S. Proposal For Ceasefire With Israel
- 19.11.2024, 8:46
- 5,458
With a few conditions, though.
Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to the United States' proposal for a ceasefire with Israel. However, some comments were made on the content.
This is reported by Reuters.
In particular, Assistant Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Ali Hassan Khalil said that Lebanon sent a written response to the US ambassador to Lebanon on Monday, while White House special envoy Amos Hochstein is meanwhile travelling to Beirut to continue negotiations. The Hezbollah group in turn backed its long-time ally, Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, to negotiate a ceasefire.
‘Lebanon submitted its comments on the document in a positive atmosphere. All the comments we submitted confirm the precise compliance with resolution 1701 with all the provisions,’ Khalil said.
Reuters specifies that he is referring to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
Conditions in the document require Hezbollah to have no armed presence in the area between the Lebanon-Israel border and the Litani River, which runs about 30 kilometres north of the border.
Khalil said the success of the initiative now depends on Israel. He added that if the Israeli side does not want a solution, it ‘can create 100 problems.’
Israel has long argued that Resolution 1701 has never been properly implemented, pointing to the presence of Hezbollah fighters and weapons along the border. Lebanon, meanwhile, has accused Israel of violations, including military jets flying in its airspace.
Khalil also said Israel was trying to negotiate ‘under fire,’ referring to escalating bombardment of Beirut and Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.
‘This will not affect our position,’ the aide to the Lebanese parliament speaker added.