US special envoy Amos Hochstein is expected to visit Beirut Tuesday as Lebanon indicates it has considered a Washington proposal to end the year-long war between the IDF and Hezbollah.
A Lebanese political source confirmed his visit to Reuters, and his pending visit has been widely reported in the Lebanese media.
Lebanon has taken a positive view toward the United States ceasefire proposal between Hezbollah and Israel, which it received last week via the American Ambassador Lisa Johnson, according to a report on the LBCI website.An Israeli source clarified that this does not mean Lebanon has accepted the offer.
The IDF, for the last year, has fought a cross-border war with Hezbollah at the same time that it is battling Hamas in Gaza. US President Joe Biden is hoping that he can put in place a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah before he leaves office on January 20.
There is a broad understanding that such an agreement would be based on United Nations Security Resolution 1701, which set the ceasefire terms that ended the Second Lebanon War.
![U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati [not pictured] in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/564557 "U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati [not pictured] in Beirut, Lebanon November 7, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)")
That resolution mandates that armed non-state actors such as Hezbollah were not allowed to operate in Southern Lebanon between the Israeli border and the Litani River, but there is no means by which to assess adherence.
Enforcement mechanism
Israel and the United States hope to put in place an enforcement mechanism. Barring that, Israel has said it wants to maintain the right to strike at Hezbollah targets should the Iranian proxy choose to rearm along the northern border.
Lebanon and Hezbollah have opposed granting Israel the right to strike, insisting that there are other means to ensure that Hezbollah does not rearm and re-entrench itself along Israel’s northern border.
The United Nations Security Council is set to hear a report on compliance with 1701 on Tuesday. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was in Washington last week to discuss the terms of an IDF-Hezbollah agreement.
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was in Washington last week to discuss the terms of an IDF-Hezbollah agreement. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel one week earlier, where he also raised the subject of Lebanon.