On the way to a ceasefire? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today (Thursday) in Jerusalem with the U.S. President's special envoy, Amos Hochstein, as well as with the U.S. President's special envoy for Middle Eastern affairs, Brett McGurk. The meeting took place against the backdrop of negotiations for an agreement between Israel and Lebanon, after Hochstein visited Beirut in recent days.
According to a statement from Netanyahu's office, "At the beginning of his remarks, the Prime Minister thanked our American friends for their efforts." The Prime Minister clarified that the main issue is not the paperwork of this or that agreement, but rather Israel's ability and determination to enforce the agreement and thwart any threat to its security from Lebanon, in a way that will safely return our residents to their homes.
As a reminder, last night, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati told the "Al-Jadeed" channel that he spoke with Hochstein and hoped to advance a ceasefire agreement in his country. "We hope that within hours, or in the coming days, there will be a ceasefire," Mikati said. "We hope to see Hochstein in Beirut by the end of the week." He told me that the situation today is better than yesterday. There is cautious optimism, we are doing our best.
The Lebanese Prime Minister added and recounted that Hochstein suggested to him "to reach a ceasefire agreement before November 5" – the date of the U.S. presidential elections. According to him, "Hezbollah was late in separating Lebanon from the Gaza front." We demand that the Lebanese army enter the areas from which the Israeli army withdraws.
