Lebanon’s prime minister stated Wednesday that U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein indicated a cease-fire with Israel may very well be reached earlier than the Nov. 5 U.S. elections, following a telephone name late Wednesday.
“The call today with Hochstein suggested to me that perhaps we could reach a cease-fire in the coming days, before the fifth” of November, Najib Mikati stated in a televised interview with Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed.
Hochstein was heading to Israel on Wednesday to debate situations for a cease-fire with Hezbollah, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller advised reporters.
Hezbollah’s new chief Naim Qassem on Wednesday stated the group would comply with a cease-fire with Israel below acceptable phrases, however added {that a} viable deal has but to be introduced.
“We are doing our best… to have a cease-fire within the coming hours or days,” Mikati advised Al-Jadeed, including that he was “cautiously optimistic.”
Mikati stated Hezbollah is now not linking a cease-fire in Lebanon to a truce in Gaza, nevertheless criticizing the group over the “late” reversal.
Previously, Hezbollah had repeatedly declared that it could solely cease its assaults on Israel if a cease-fire was reached in Gaza.
But Qassem on Wednesday stated the group would settle for a cease-fire below situations deemed “appropriate and suitable,” with none point out of the Palestinian territory.
Mikati stated a cease-fire can be linked to the implementation of a United Nations decision that ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 states that solely the Lebanese military and U.N. peacekeepers needs to be deployed in southern Lebanon whereas demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory.
“The Lebanese army is ready to strengthen its presence in southern Lebanon” and be certain that the one weapons and army infrastructure within the space are these managed by the state, Mikati stated.
Source: www.dailysabah.com