President Biden's senior adviser urges immediate political solutions to Israeli-Hezbollah fighting

By Stephanie Radi

BEIRUT (AA) - US President Joe Biden's senior adviser Amos Hochstein on Tuesday urged for immediate political solutions to the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group.

Following a meeting with Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, he said, "The conflict on both sides of the Blue Line between Hezbollah and Israel has gone on long enough."

"It is in everyone’s interest to resolve the conflict quickly and politically, and this is possible, necessary, and within reach," Hochstein added.

He noted that achieving a cease-fire in Gaza would eventually help end the border escalation between Israel and Lebanon, urging the Palestinian Hamas group to accept the cease-fire proposal outlined on May 31 by President Biden, who repeatedly claimed that Israel agreed to it.

On May 31, Biden said Israel had presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Hamas said it responded "positively" and "responsibly" to all proposals to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and release all detainees.

While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had "reaffirmed his commitment" to the Gaza cease-fire proposal during their meeting last week, neither Netanyahu nor any member of his government have publicly endorsed the proposal.

Hochstein said putting an end to the fighting on the Lebanese-Israeli border areas "will create conditions for the displaced to return to their homes in the south, and the same will apply to civilians on the other side (in reference to Israel)."

On Monday, he traveled to Israel and met with top Israeli officials, including Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant.

Since the war in Gaza began last October, there have been daily exchanges of fire, and thousands of civilians have been displaced on both sides of the shared border.

Hochstein played a key role in Israel and Lebanon's maritime boundary agreement, which was signed in Oct. 2022.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara