The two main points of the agreement revolve around achieving a cessation of hostilities, followed by resolving disputes over the land border
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An arrangement to start negotiations to end the border conflict between Lebanon and Israel is progressing despite fears of a large-scale war with Hezbollah, sources close to the talks in Beirut told media on Thursday.
The deal is being mediated between US envoy Amos Hochstein and Lebanon’s Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri, who is the head of the Amal Movement close to Hezbollah. The US has no direct contact with Hezbollah, which it considers a terrorist group.
The sources said that Iran-backed Hezbollah has given the “green light” for the negotiations, contingent upon a ceasefire in Gaza where its ally Hamas is fighting Israel. Hezbollah opened a front on the Israel-Lebanon border on October 8 to divert Israel’s military capabilities away from its operations in Gaza.
The two main points of the deal are achieving a cessation of hostilities on the border, followed by resolving disputes over the contested land frontier, according to the sources. There are 13 disputed points along the Blue Line, the current UN-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel.
Hezbollah does not oppose these points in principle, if a ceasefire is achieved in Gaza, said the sources. The armed group has publicly said it will not stop fighting on the Lebanon-Israel front before a Gaza ceasefire.
Mr Hochstein arrived in Lebanon on Monday, where he met officials including Mr Berri, before travelling to Israel in a quest for a resolution to the cross-border hostilities.
The sources said that a committee at the US Embassy has been tasked with “crafting the proposal, covering its security, economic, and political dimensions”.
Mr Hochstein has not so far revealed details of his long-awaited road map for de-escalation, based on the implementation of Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, on both sides of the border.
The resolution called for the withdrawal of Hezbollah north of the Litani River, which is 30km from the border, while barring Israel from conducting military operations in Lebanon.
“The parameters are well-known: strengthening the presence of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in the southern part of the country, diminishing Hezbollah’s capacity at the border in exchange for Israeli concession and border negotiations; these are the fundamentals. It’s broad so there is room for negotiations,” a western diplomat told media.
“But Mr Hochstein has not yet delved into that level of detail,” the diplomat said.
“But as long as there is no ceasefire in Gaza, everything will stay at a standstill.”
Gaza ceasefire talks ended in Cairo on Thursday with no breakthrough, but Hamas said they could resume at the weekend.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Tuesday that Mr Hochstein “has developed a proposal and put it on the table”.
“Speaker Berri is studying it, and a response will be provided. We also have questions and are awaiting responses from Mr Hochstein,” Mr Mikati said in a TV interview.
“An agreement for the Ramadan period will take place in Gaza, with reports suggesting a ceasefire before Ramadan. Here, negotiations will take place this month,” he said.
Mr Mikati said that he and Mr Berri would “contact Mr Hochstein within 48 hours, by phone” regarding his proposal.
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