Lebanon: US envoy calls for unilateral ceasefire

Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed has reported that US President Joe Biden’s envoy, Amos Hochstein, “requested that Lebanon announce a unilateral ceasefire before his departure to Tel Aviv, aiming to exert pressure on Israel to reciprocate.”

According to the report, “Lebanon upheld its position, insisting that both sides must agree to a ceasefire to initiate negotiations on implementing Resolution 1701. As of yet, there has been no communication from or with Hochstein.”

Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported yesterday that during a meeting with Hochstein, Israel will insist on its right to target Hezbollah “in self-defence against imminent threats to Israel” and allow its war planes to continue flying over Lebanon for “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance”. Thus allowing the occupation state to violate Lebanese sovereignty at will,  a measure which is likely to be rejected by Beirut.

UN Resolution 1701, which ended Israel’s 2006 war on Lebanon, calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.

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