TEHRAN ‘PUSHING’ HEZBOLLAH TO ACCEPT CEASEFIRE DEAL WITH ISRAEL

Mon 18 November 2024:

As US negotiators head to Lebanon to attempt to broker a deal, Iran’s supreme leader is reportedly pressuring Hezbollah toward a ceasefire with Israel.

Two Iranians connected to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said that Ali Larijani, a top adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sent messages to the Lebanese group on Friday indicating his support for bringing an end to the conflict.

According to the people who spoke to The New York Times, Khamenei advised Hezbollah that it should accept the conditions that call for it to relocate its forces north in compliance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which put an end to the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

According to them, the messages also gave the organization the assurance that it would keep getting military and financial backing to aid in the ground’s post-conflict reconstruction and recovery.

Lebanon’s government is expected to respond to the US ceasefire proposal – delivered to Beirut last week – later on Monday, Lebanese media outlet Al Akhbar reported.

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Amos Hochstein, a US special envoy, is expected to arrive in Lebanon on Tuesday to continue pushing for a ceasefire.

Hezbollah views the ceasefire proposal with “great openness”, Al Akhbar reported, citing “well-informed sources”. It added that the group had authorised Najib Mikati, the Lebanese prime minister, and Nabih Berri, the speaker of parliament, to continue negotiations on its behalf.

Berri said on Saturday that there was “progress” made in a “positive atmosphere” but that Lebanon would reject any Israeli demand to violate its sovereignty after a ceasefire.

The US-drafted ceasefire proposal, revealed last month by Israeli media, includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory and the disarmament of Hezbollah in areas south of the Litani river, which runs 30km from Israel’s border.

As part of the agreement, the Lebanese government would ensure that Hezbollah is disarmed and prevented from regrouping or taking control of territory.

The US and international community would also help increase the size, strength and capacity of Lebanon’s army in order to implement the deal, the proposal said.

It would also give Israel the right to act to defend itself against threats to its security, which includes the “production, storage, or transportation of heavy weaponry; ballistic, medium-, and long-range missiles; and other advanced weaponry.”

A senior Lebanese government official confirmed to AFP on Nov. 15 that U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson had presented a 13-point proposal to Lebanese officials the previous day.

The proposal includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would redeploy its troops along the border.

Last week, the Washington Post reported that Netanyahu is preparing to push for a ceasefire with Hezbollah as a foreign policy “gift” to US president-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in January.

However, amid the reports of both sides showing a willingness to a ceasefire, Yisrael Katz, Israel’s newly-appointed defence minister, stated last week that “there will be no ceasefire and no pause in Lebanon.”

“Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee its right to enforce and prevent terrorism independently, ensuring the war’s goals in Lebanon are met, including disarming Hezbollah, pushing them beyond the Litani River, and allowing northern residents to return to their homes safely,” Mr Katz said.

On Saturday, Israeli forces made their deepest advance into southern Lebanon when they captured a hill in the southern village of Chamaa some 5km from the border.

It is unclear exactly how far Israel has pushed Hezbollah from its border, but thousands of Israeli soldiers have operated in southern Lebanon since the ground invasion officially began on October 1.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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