Israeli-US agent Hochstein threatens Lebanon

Hochstein meets Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri

The Cradle

US special envoy [Israeli born] Amos Hochstein visited Beirut on 21 October for talks with Lebanese officials about an Israel–Hezbollah ceasefire, saying that an agreement based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 is not enough.

“We’re going to have a substantive conversation with the Government of Lebanon, with the Government of Israel, about how best to bring about a cessation of hostilities to end this conflict,” Hochstein said after his meeting Monday with Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.

Current negotiations between the Lebanese and Israeli governments for a ceasefire have been based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which set the conditions for ending the July War in 2006.

The resolution requires Hezbollah to disarm and that Israeli forces, who had invaded Lebanese territory during the war, not enter Lebanese territory without the permission of the Lebanese government.

However, Hochstein said in Beirut that even if Lebanon and Israel commit to Resolution 1701, it is not enough.

“For the US and the rest of the world that will come in to support Lebanon’s economic and military efforts, we need to be assured that this won’t lead to another round of conflict in a month, a year, or two years,” he stated.

“This is why a mere public commitment to 1701 is not enough. We need to work on not just updating 1701 but ensuring that practical measures are put in place.”

By doing so, Hochstein, who was born in Israel and fought in the Israeli army, appeared to be promoting Israel’s conditions for a ceasefire in Lebanon.  

Axios reported Sunday that Israel is demanding its forces be allowed to continue ground operations within Lebanon, referred to as “active enforcement,” to make sure Hezbollah does not rearm and rebuild its military infrastructure close to the border, in exchange for agreeing to a ceasefire.

Israel also wants its air force to have freedom to violate Lebanese airspace with its warplanes, the report added.

A US official told Axios it is highly unlikely that Lebanon and the international community would agree to Israel’s conditions.

Hochstein also seeks to separate the Gaza and Lebanon fronts, which is another Israeli goal.

“I want to be very, very clear,” Hochstein said, stressing that “tying Lebanon’s future to other conflicts in the region was not and is not in the interest of the Lebanese people.”

Hezbollah has insisted that a ceasefire can only be reached in Lebanon if there is a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel has been committing genocide of Palestinians for the past year.

While Hochstein claims to seek a ceasefire, several US and Israeli officials who spoke with POLITICO in late September said he and Brett McGurk, the US National Security coordinator for West Asia and North Africa, told Israeli leaders that Washington “agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s broad strategy to shift Israel’s military focus to the north against Hezbollah.”

Hochstein’s visit on Monday follows a night of heavy bombing in Beirut’s suburbs. Israel unleashed a massive wave of airstrikes across Lebanon on the evening of 20 October, targeting buildings linked to Hezbollah’s Al-Qard al-Hassan financial institution, which provides interest-free loans to citizens, among other services.