US envoy Hochstein expected in Israel after Lebanon visit for cease-fire efforts

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) - US envoy Amos Hochstein is expected to arrive in Tel Aviv next Wednesday after a visit to Lebanon as part of efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement in Lebanon, the Israeli broadcasting authority, KAN, reported Saturday.

Biden's adviser will arrive Wednesday after completing a visit to Lebanon, as part of US efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, it said.

KAN quoted unnamed political sources who said, “Tel Aviv expects significant progress in cease-fire talks with Lebanon during the next week, coinciding with Hochstein's visit."

Sources told the Lebanese broadcaster, Al-Jadeed, on Saturday that Hochstein will visit Beirut on Tuesday.

On Friday, the public broadcaster reported that Israel is awaiting a Lebanese response to a US proposal for a cease-fire within the next few days.

The proposal includes, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, Israel and Hezbollah committing to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, while ensuring the right to self-defense.

The deployment of the Lebanese army as the sole armed force in southern Lebanon, alongside UNIFIL forces, is also in the deal.

The proposal stipulates a ban on rearming unofficial armed groups in Lebanon, with any weapons sold or produced in Lebanon to be under the supervision of the Lebanese government.

It grants Lebanese security forces the authority to monitor the entry of weapons across the Lebanese border and to oversee facilities not recognized by the government that produce weapons, dismantling them and dismantling any armed infrastructure not complying with the obligations in the agreement.

According to the broadcast authority, the proposal calls for Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon within seven days, to be replaced by the Lebanese army under international supervision, and includes disarming armed groups south of the Litani River within 60 days of signing the agreement.

There has been no immediate comment from Lebanon or Hezbollah on the Israeli authority's report.

According to Israeli media, the US recently proposed that Hezbollah withdraw to the north of the Litani River, and the Lebanese army deploy in the south, with Hezbollah prevented from re-establishing positions in the area and from transferring weapons through Syria to the group.

Israel, however, wants to retain the right to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon even after the agreement, which Lebanon strongly rejects.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, insists that any indirect negotiations with Israel must be based on two conditions: stopping the aggression and fully protecting Lebanese sovereignty without compromise.

Israel launched an air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are targets of the Hezbollah group in late September, in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare.

More than 3,400 people have been killed, nearly 14,700 injured and more than 1 million displaced by Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala