The US envoy to the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, arrived in Israel on Thursday for a series of intensive meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Katz and Minister of Strategic Affairs Dermer, with the aim of accelerating the agreement to end the war in Lebanon.
Hochstein lands in Israel after spending time in Beirut, where he tried to close the gap with the Lebanese government, which represents Hezbollah.
Channel 14 reported that Hochstein arrived from Beirut relatively optimistic. It is likely that no agreement will be announced during his visit here in Israel, but that there is "cautious optimism" that an agreement on the cessation of the war can be reached within a week.
The current state of the talks is that on the one hand, about 80 to 90 percent of the points are agreed upon between the sides, but the main point that is not agreed upon is the IDF's freedom of fire enforcement for any violation of the agreement by Hezbollah.
The secretary-general of the terror organization, Naim Qassem, said in his speech yesterday that he would not accept a situation in which Israel could enter Lebanon as it saw fit and do as it pleased.
It is possible that what will happen in the end, Morag analyzed, is that the sides will not reach an official ceasefire, but that Israel will declare that it reserves the right to enforce with fire any violation by Hezbollah, and the terrorist organization will declare that it does not recognize this right – but in practice, the fighting in Lebanon will stop.
