Hezbollah group rejects terms including German, UK participation in commission overseeing implementation of agreement; Lebanese outlet opposing Hezbollah says commission to have vast authority over Lebanon’s airport, sea ports and borders
Hezbollah is demanding modifications to the cease-fire agreement being negotiated by U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein, local media reported on Monday.
According to the Hezbollah-affiliated al Akhbar newspaper, the Iran-backed terror group submitted its response to the proposal to Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and care-taker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The newspaper claimed Israel was hoping that Hezbollah would reject the deal so that the war could continue.
Sources told al Akhbar that the wording of the Lebanese response to Hochstein is nearing completion and will be delivered to the American embassy in Beirut ahead of the envoy’s expected arrival on Tuesday.
“The positive ambiguity is Lebanon’s way to deal with the American proposal,” sources reportedly said. The questions that were expected to upend the negotiations were resolved and there is a wide birth left. “The negotiations became serious and Netanyahu was under doubled pressure to stop the fighting,” according to the report.
Political sources told the publication that Hezbollah’s response was in line with the 2006 UN resolution 1701 and that Hochstein will not announce an agreement during his visit and will only relay the Lebanese response to the Israelis.
But officials in Lebanon believe that even if a deal can be agreed, there would be difficulties in implementing it. Hezbollah rejected the participation of Germany and the UK in the committee overseeing the implementation of the cease-fire deal but agreed to American and French involvement. “This is a critical week, there will either be a cease-fire agreement within days or the fighting would continue until mid-January,” the officials said, referring to the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Western officials said they believe the “positive openness in Lebanon will help pressure Israel to implement the deal.”
According to the Lebanese daily Nidaa al-Watan (Call of the Nation), which does not support Hezbollah, the pending deal delivered to Lebanon includes:
• The establishment of an international commission to oversee the implementation of UN resolution 1701, headed by an American general and with the participation of a French general.
• The demolition of Hezbollah military structures north and south of the Litani River.
• Preserving Israel’s right to intervene in case of violations of the agreement that cannot be resolved in negotiations.
• Implementation of the deal either through dialogue or through force.
The newspaper also reported Berri’s response may not be a resounding yes or no, which would not be enough for the Americans or the Israelis, who insist on a positive Lebanese response, and that even if a cease-fire is agreed upon, there would be complications as a result of the agreement and the difficulties would continue.
The Al Joumhouria newspaper, which opposes Hezbollah, revealed more information about the proposed deal than previously reported, including a Hezbollah withdrawal north of the Litani while the IDF would withdraw its troops from south Lebanese villages, the return of displaced civilians on both sides of the border and the strengthening of peacekeeping forces and the Lebanese army.
The newspaper also reported the establishment of an international commission but said that, in addition to the U.S., France and the UK, an unnamed Arab country also would participate.
The commission’s authorities will be vast and will include oversight of strategic instillations in Lebanon, including the international airport, the ports and border crossings.
The newspaper raises the question of whether the agreement could be reached before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump assumes office, or if there is a risk of a dangerous escalation in the war. It also reports that the initial Lebanese response was already delivered but more comments would be added.
