Lebanon and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement agreed to the US proposal for a cease-fire with Israel, with some caveats.
A high-ranking Lebanese official told Reuters on Monday that this initiative was the most serious effort to end the fighting so far, reports TASR.
An adviser to the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, said that Lebanon had delivered its written response to the proposal to the US ambassador in the country. Meanwhile, the US special envoy Amos Hochstein is traveling to Beirut to continue the ceasefire talks. Israel has not commented on the proposal yet.
The Hezbollah movement backed its longtime ally Berri to negotiate a cease-fire. “Lebanon presented its comments on the proposal in a favorable atmosphere,” said Berri’s advisor Ali Hasan Chalíl.
“All the comments we have submitted confirm the strict compliance with (UN) Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” he explained. He was referring to UN Security Council resolution no. 1701, which ended the previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
According to its terms, Hezbollah must not have an armed presence in the area between the Lebanese-Israeli border and the Lítani River, which flows approximately 30 kilometers north of the border.
Khalil clarified that the success of the American initiative now depends on Israel. Israel has long maintained that the aforementioned resolution was never properly implemented, pointing to the presence of Hezbollah fighters and weapons along the border. Lebanon accuses Israel of violations, including overflights of military aircraft in its airspace.
