Hochstein in Beirut: No Time to Waste to Reach Diplomatic Solution

Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Situation today is better than yesterday

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with the Senior Advisor to US President, Amos Hochstein (L) in Beirut, Lebanon, 14 August 2024. (EPA)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with the Senior Advisor to US President, Amos Hochstein (L) in Beirut, Lebanon, 14 August 2024. (EPA)
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Hochstein in Beirut: No Time to Waste to Reach Diplomatic Solution

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with the Senior Advisor to US President, Amos Hochstein (L) in Beirut, Lebanon, 14 August 2024. (EPA)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with the Senior Advisor to US President, Amos Hochstein (L) in Beirut, Lebanon, 14 August 2024. (EPA)

US special envoy Amos Hochstein stressed from Beirut on Wednesday that there was no longer time to waste to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that would in turn lead to a diplomatic solution that would end the escalation between Hezbollah and Lebanon.

Hochstein, tasked with shuttle diplomacy between Lebanon and Israel, spoke to journalists after meeting Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, as the region anxiously anticipates retaliatory attacks from Iran and the allied Lebanese Hezbollah group on Israel.

Hochstein did not arrive to Lebanon from Tel Aviv, as was expected. Rather, he flew in on a Lebanese Middle East Airlines flight from a European country.

He met with Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, army commander Joseph Aoun and a number of opposition MPs.

Berri, a key Hezbollah ally, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting was Hochstein was “reassuring”, saying: “The situation today is better than yesterday.”

Hochstein’s visit is a message from US President Joe Biden that “he hasn’t forgotten about Lebanon.”

Berri did not divulge the details of the more than an hour-long meeting with Hochstein, but his comments align with information that said the envoy had requested during his meetings in Lebanon that escalation be avoided before the upcoming Gaza ceasefire talks.

Berri said: “Strong efforts are being exerted to reach a ceasefire.” He spoke of “very intense pressure to reach an agreement that should reflect positively on Lebanon.”

Speaking to reporters after his talks with Berri, Hochstein stated that they discussed the framework of the ceasefire and “we agreed that “there is no more time to waste and there's no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay.”

“The deal would also help enable a diplomatic resolution here in Lebanon,” the envoy added.

It is critical to take advantage of “this window for diplomatic action” to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, he stressed, adding that now was the right time.

“The more time goes by of escalated tensions, the more time goes by of daily conflict, the more the odds and the chances go up for accidents, for mistakes, for inadvertent targets to be hit that could easily cause escalation that goes out of control,” Hochstein warned.

Moreover, he revealed he believed that a solution to the conflict could be reached “today”, adding that he realizes that some parties want to tie it to other conflicts. “This is not our position,” he noted.

"We continue to believe that a diplomatic resolution is achievable because we continue to believe that no one truly wants a full-scale war between Lebanon and Israel," Hochstein stressed.

For his part, Berri urged the need to end the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon, expressing his “great alarm” with Israel’s political and military escalation, citing the assassinations of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut last month.

He also cited its ongoing massacres against the Palestinian people, the latest of which took place at a school over the weekend and left scores dead.

“This policy demonstrates Israel’s determination to go ahead with the military escalation and scuttling any effort to stop the war,” remarked the speaker.

He added that Lebanon is committed to extending the term of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in line with resolution 1701.

Lebanon has been demanding the full implementation of the resolution since its adoption in 2006, he declared.



Arab Ministers Finalize Gaza Reconstruction Plan Ahead of Cairo Summit

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)
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Arab Ministers Finalize Gaza Reconstruction Plan Ahead of Cairo Summit

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)

Arab foreign ministers held on Monday a preparatory meeting in Cairo to finalize an “Arab plan” for Gaza’s reconstruction without displacing its Palestinian population.

The plan for Gaza, drawn up by Egypt, would be presented to Arab leaders at Tuesday's extraordinary Arab League summit as a counter to US President Donald Trump’s plan to “take over” the Gaza Strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” while forcing its Palestinian residents to relocate to Egypt and Jordan.

Arab foreign ministers met behind closed doors in Cairo ahead of the extraordinary Arab League summit, which is expected to come out with one Arab position against the displacement of Palestinians, while adopting a plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Egypt’s plan would sideline Hamas and replace it with interim bodies controlled by Arab, Muslim and Western states, according to a draft seen by Reuters.

The Egyptian vision for Gaza does not specify whether the proposal would be implemented before or after any permanent peace deal to end the war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

Cairo's plan does not tackle critical issues such as who will foot the bill for Gaza's reconstruction or outline any specific details around how Gaza would be governed, nor how an armed group as powerful as Hamas would be pushed aside.

Under the Egyptian plan, a Governance Assistance Mission would replace the Hamas-run government in Gaza for an unspecified interim period and would be responsible for humanitarian aid and for kick-starting reconstruction of the enclave, which has been devastated by the war.

Last Saturday, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty said his country will train the Palestinian Police forces to be deployed in Gaza as part of the reconstruction plan.

Furthermore, Abdelatty highlighted Egypt's alignment with the Palestinian Authority on security and governance arrangements in Gaza.

Bilateral meetings

Abdelatty held bilateral meetings with a number of his Arab counterparts ahead of the Cairo summit.

He discussed with Palestinian Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa preparations for the summit, which will tackle the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip, efforts to consolidate the ceasefire agreement and underscoring the resolute Arab stance towards the Palestinian issue.

Abdelatty also met with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.

They categorically rejected the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland and stressed the importance of regional and international solidarity to ensure the implementation of all stages of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza as a first step towards setting a clear political path aimed at reaching a radical and final settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, based on the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state according to relevant international agreements and resolutions.

He also held separate meetings with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Yemeni FM Shaya Zindani, Tunisian FM Mohamed Ali Nafti and Mauritanian FM Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani arrived in Cairo on Monday to participate in the ministerial-level preparatory session.

Algeria and Tunisia’s presidents will not take part in the summit. Instead, the two countries will be represented by their foreign ministers.