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Beirut Says French Plan for Lebanon-Israel Truce Could Be ‘Step’ to Stability

This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila during Israeli bombardment on March 15, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila during Israeli bombardment on March 15, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
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Beirut Says French Plan for Lebanon-Israel Truce Could Be ‘Step’ to Stability

This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila during Israeli bombardment on March 15, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
This picture taken from an Israeli position along the border with southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila during Israeli bombardment on March 15, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)

Lebanon sees a French proposal meant to end hostilities with Israel and settle a border dispute as a possible "significant step" towards peace, according to a letter by Lebanon's foreign ministry dated Friday and seen by Reuters.

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel across Lebanon's southern frontier since October in parallel with the Gaza war. Diplomatic efforts have sought to halt hostilities to prevent a wider conflict breaking out.

The French plan was submitted to Lebanon last month and the details were first reported by Reuters. It outlines three phases in which military operations would cease, Lebanese armed groups would withdraw combat forces and Lebanese regular army troops would be deployed in the south.

To succeed, any deal would need approval from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Hezbollah says it will not stop clashing with Israel until an Israeli-Hamas ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

In its letter addressed to the French embassy, the Lebanese foreign ministry said Beirut "believes that the French initiative could be a significant step" towards peace and security in Lebanon and the broader region.

It did not address the specific steps outlined in France's proposal, but said UN Security Council Resolution 1701 - which ended the last big war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 - was the "cornerstone to realizing enduring stability".

That resolution calls for non-state armed actors to quit south Lebanon and Lebanese army troops to deploy there.

Friday's letter said that "Lebanon does not seek war" but wanted a halt to what it called Israeli violations of Lebanon's territorial sovereignty by land, air and sea.

Once violations stop, it said, Lebanon would commit to resuming tripartite meetings with UN peacekeepers and Israel "to discuss all disputes and reach an agreement on a full and comprehensive implementation of UNSC 1701".

US envoy Amos Hochstein is also in talks with Lebanon on reaching a diplomatic resolution to the border fighting.

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Arab World

Outrage in Yemen Over Houthi Takeover of Sanaa University Land

A schematic of the area that the Houthi group decided to allocate to an investor (X)
A schematic of the area that the Houthi group decided to allocate to an investor (X)
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Outrage in Yemen Over Houthi Takeover of Sanaa University Land

A schematic of the area that the Houthi group decided to allocate to an investor (X)
A schematic of the area that the Houthi group decided to allocate to an investor (X)

The decision to transfer land from Sanaa University to investors connected with the Houthi group has caused outrage among Yemen’s academics and raised fears that other state lands and facilities could be targeted in the same way.
A recently leaked document shows that Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the so-called Supreme Political Council (the Houthis’ ruling body), ordered the allocation of 10,000 libnah (about 44.44 square meters for each libnah) of the university’s land to an unknown individual, Abdu Ali Hadi, for medical investment projects.
In late May, a directive ordered the allocation of an additional 40,000 libnah of land to Abdu Ali Hadi in the Bani Matar area west of Sanaa. This was proposed by the same individual who received land from Sanaa University.
University academics told Asharq Al-Awsat that these actions are seen as a deliberate attack on higher education, aimed at blocking the university’s future expansion.
One academic criticized the decision, noting that there are plenty of state-owned lands in and around Sanaa that could be used for development, but they are controlled and misused by the Houthi group.
The academic argued that targeting the university’s land suggests a systematic effort to weaken the educational system and turn its institutions into tools for promoting the Houthi agenda.
In recent years, al-Mashat has ordered the transfer of parts of Sanaa University’s land and buildings to the Endowment Authority, a Houthi-controlled body. This was widely criticized by academics and students as an attempt to plunder the university.
Another academic noted that the university’s Houthi-led administration has remained silent about these actions, suggesting a coordinated effort among Houthi leaders to misuse the university’s assets as part of their broader strategy to seize public property.
A third academic noted that before the Houthi takeover, corruption at Sanaa University involved only leasing land for the university’s benefit. In contrast, under al-Mashat, land is being allocated to individuals, benefiting specific people rather than the university.
The academic pointed out that previous corrupt officials did not dare to systematically target the university as the Houthis do, aiming to deprive the community of education and exploit public resources.
A university faculty member also recalled that three years ago, the Houthi administration decided to sell some university land to support combat fronts. The faculty member regretted that this decision was not well-publicized and the fate of the land remains unknown.
Criticism of the land decision has not only come from academics and social figures opposed to the Houthis but also from within the Houthi ranks. Some Houthi leaders and activists have expressed dissatisfaction and called for the decision to be reversed and for al-Mashat to be held accountable.
Pro-Houthi lawyer Hashim Sharaf al-Din has threatened to sue al-Mashat, arguing that the decision to allocate university land is illegal. He claimed it violates multiple laws, including those governing public institutions and state property, and has pledged to take legal action to overturn the decision.