According to Axios, citing U.S. and Israeli officials, Israel has submitted a list of demands to the White House that it wants met before agreeing to a ceasefire in Lebanon.
As Israel considers an invasion of southern Lebanon, citing threats from Hezbollah, it is simultaneously resisting international pressure for a ceasefire. The recent assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah by Israel, shortly after he had accepted a ceasefire, has raised suspicions that Israel may not be genuinely interested in a ceasefire. Meanwhile, the U.S. is reportedly seeking to leverage Israeli attacks to support the election of a pro-U.S. president in Lebanon and weaken Hezbollah’s influence.
Against this backdrop, Israel, which continues its military operations in Lebanon, has sent a list of conditions to the U.S., signaling that it is open to negotiating a ceasefire in response to growing international pressure.
According to Axios, Israeli officials stated that the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office sent the document to the White House ahead of a visit to Beirut by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who is expected to discuss a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
The document reportedly contains two key demands: first, that the Israeli Air Force be allowed to continue operating in Lebanese airspace; and second, that the Israeli military be permitted to engage in “active enforcement” against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
These demands conflict with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which tasks the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with enforcing the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Moreover, these demands infringe upon Lebanon’s sovereign rights, making it highly unlikely that they will be accepted by either Lebanon or the international community.
Hochstein is expected to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut today to discuss Israel’s demands. Berri told Al-Arabiya yesterday that Hochstein’s visit represents “the last chance before the U.S. elections to find a solution” to the ongoing conflict in Lebanon.
