The proposal, which Johnson outlined to Lebanon’s Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri – who is close to Hezbollah – is the first to be submitted by the US and Israel since a temporary ceasefire was negotiated in late September. Those efforts were upended when Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a major bombing attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Lebanese government is “optimistic” that Hezbollah will agree to the terms of the agreement, and authorities expect to submit an official response to the latest proposal next Monday, the first official said. “Diplomatic efforts are on fire now,” the source said.
The proposal aims to achieve a 60-day cessation of hostilities and is being portrayed as the basis of a lasting ceasefire, according to the official, adding that terms lie within the parameters of UN Resolution 1701 which ended the Lebanon-Israel war of 2006. The resolution stipulates that the only armed groups in the area south of Lebanon’s Litani River should be the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces.
“The points mainly focus on the mechanism of implementation and on the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces in implementing 1701in the south of the Litani River,” the official said, adding that it also deals with smuggling routes through the country’s international borders.