JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Monday there was progress in talks about a ceasefire in Lebanon and indicated Russia could play a part by stopping Hezbollah from rearming via Syria, although the Iran-backed group said it had not received any truce proposals yet.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the main challenge would be enforcing any ceasefire agreement, and that Israel was working with the United States on the diplomatic efforts.
“I think there is a certain progress,” Saar told a press conference in Jerusalem. “We are working with the Americans on the issue.”
“We will be ready to be there if we know, first of all that Hezbollah is not on our border, is north of the Litani river and that Hezbollah will not be able to arm again with new weapons systems.”
Israel has been waging a major offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon since late September, pounding its strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburbs, southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley and sending troops into areas near the border.
The Litani river runs across southern Lebanon some 30 km (20 miles) north of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
In Beirut, a Hezbollah official indicated an intensification of diplomatic efforts was under way but said that neither the group nor the Lebanese state had received any new proposals.
“There is a great movement between Washington and Moscow and Tehran and a number of capitals,” Mohammad Afif said in a televised news conference.
“I believe that we are still in the phase of testing the waters and presenting initial ideas and proactive discussions, but so far there is nothing actual yet,” he added.
Israel Hayom reported on Sunday that substantial progress has been made in diplomatic negotiations over a proposed Lebanon ceasefire that would require Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River, barring its military presence near the Israeli border, while the IDF would return to the international border.
Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s best-selling newspaper, reported on Monday that Israel and Lebanon have exchanged drafts through U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, signalling progress in efforts to reach a final agreement.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie in Jerusalem and Laila Bassam and Riham Alkousaa in Beirut; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Peter Graff, William Maclean)
Comments