A serious U.S. push for a ceasefire in Lebanon!

An-Nahar wrote:

Lebanese circles concerned with the negotiations file with Israel are reflecting “positive signals” regarding the possibility of reaching a ceasefire in southern Lebanon, linked to Israel’s commitment, since the primary key remains in its hands to achieve this breakthrough. The calculations of the various parties outweigh expectations.

According to informed sources in contact with the Lebanese delegation headed by Ambassador Simon Karam, the latest round in Washington ended with a conclusion that can be built upon. They say the Americans are dealing with the matter with “a high degree of seriousness” in order to reach a halt to hostilities, even if they are not providing decisive answers as to whether Israel will implement what has been achieved at the table, despite understanding the Lebanese point of view—especially since a set of political calculations controls Benjamin Netanyahu’s choices ahead of the Knesset elections, as it is in his interest to contest them against the backdrop of a belt of fire in southern Lebanon and Gaza.

While Netanyahu possesses a number of factors that help him, President Donald Trump is capable of “reining in” the Tel Aviv government’s project, particularly if America and Iran succeed in their negotiations in Pakistan. There is also Lebanese insistence in the negotiations, which have become established and a fait accompli that cannot be bypassed, despite Hezbollah’s objection to them, with Washington focusing on a ceasefire from both sides. For that reason, the presidency quickly informed Speaker Nabih Berri of the outcome of the round so that he could brief the party on its results. Hezbollah, for its part, would not delay in going along with a “real truce,” provided Israel halts its war machine and stops carrying out assassinations and pressuring citizens in the south and across all regions. The Lebanese delegation made major efforts to secure a truce that would not resemble the previous version, “which remained on paper.”

Lebanon is also stressing the need to improve the negotiating terms, so that the anticipated truce—if translated on the ground—is accompanied by a halt to Israeli bulldozing operations and the random demolition of homes in more than one town, as well as an end to assassinations. At the same time, it is no secret that the Israeli negotiator is dealing harshly, brandishing the factor of force at his disposal, and without guarantees being extracted from him at the table, he naturally does not easily agree to freeze his military machine.

These negotiations are taking up a large share of President Joseph Aoun’s attention through his management of an open diplomatic-military operations room in Baabda, and through the directives he is putting forward for the delegation to keep pace with what is unfolding in the talks regarding what Lebanon’s delegation is presenting and what it is hearing from its Israeli counterpart, which is seasoned in this type of confrontation. At the same time, Lebanon continues to stress and demand an end to Israeli attacks and the prevention of ongoing violations in the south, and to turn these into binding commitments, because the continuation of the former undermines the option of negotiation and reinforces the party’s point of view, as it still awaits what the winds from Islamabad will bring.

Sources following the matter told An-Nahar that Lebanon insisted on a 45-day ceasefire, while Israel wanted a shorter period, but the duration was ultimately secured through American intervention.

Amid Lebanon’s intense efforts to extinguish the engines of war between Israel and Hezbollah, Western diplomatic sources say one should not “sink into expectations,” on the grounds that Tel Aviv will not easily move to withdraw its army from the south, nor that the Washington negotiations will succeed, since they cannot be separated from what is taking place in Pakistan and the conclusions it will produce. Lebanon, they say, cannot escape those conclusions—whether positive or negative—or avoid their impact on the southern front.