Israel Sees Progress in Lebanon Ceasefire Talks, Says Russia Can Help

Rescue workers gather at the site of Israeli airstrikes that destroyed buildings facing the city's main government hospital in a densely-populated neighborhood, in southern Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP)
Rescue workers gather at the site of Israeli airstrikes that destroyed buildings facing the city's main government hospital in a densely-populated neighborhood, in southern Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP)
TT

Israel Sees Progress in Lebanon Ceasefire Talks, Says Russia Can Help

Rescue workers gather at the site of Israeli airstrikes that destroyed buildings facing the city's main government hospital in a densely-populated neighborhood, in southern Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP)
Rescue workers gather at the site of Israeli airstrikes that destroyed buildings facing the city's main government hospital in a densely-populated neighborhood, in southern Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP)

Israel said on Monday there was progress in talks about a Lebanon ceasefire and indicated Russia could play a part by stopping Hezbollah rearming via Syria, although the Iran-backed group said it had not received any new truce proposals.

Pummeled by Israel's offensive, Hezbollah said political contacts were under way involving its backers in Tehran, Washington and Moscow, whilst also saying it had enough weapons for a "long war" and keeping up rocket fire into Israel.

In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the war against Hezbollah was not yet over. The main challenge facing any ceasefire deal would be enforcement, he said, though there was "a certain progress" in talks.

After previous rounds of fruitless, US-led diplomacy to secure a Lebanon truce, the comments indicate renewed focus on the issue as President Joe Biden prepares to leave office in January, with President-elect Donald Trump set to replace him.

Hopes of a Gaza truce have meanwhile suffered a setback, with Qatar suspending its mediation role.

Ignited by the Gaza war, the conflict at the Lebanese-Israeli border had been rumbling on for a year before Israel went on the offensive in late September, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.

Saar, addressing a Jerusalem news conference, said Israel was working with United States on a ceasefire. Israel wants Hezbollah north of the Litani river - some 20 miles (30 km) from the border - and unable to rearm, he said.

Saar said a basic principle for any agreement had to be that Hezbollah would not be able to bring weapons into Lebanon from Syria. "It is vital to the success of any arrangement in Lebanon," he said.

"And the Russians are, as you know, present in Syria. And if they are in agreement with this principle, I think they can contribute effectively to this objective."

Russia deployed forces into Syria nearly a decade ago to support President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war there. Hezbollah also sent fighters to help Assad, and carved out big sway on the ground alongside other Iran-backed groups.

Syria is widely seen as a major conduit for Iran to supply weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Israel has struck targets in Syria regularly during the conflict.

An Israeli airstrike temporarily cut Syria's main Homs-Damascus highway on Monday, Syrian media reported.

In Lebanon, relatives held funerals for 20 people killed in a strike on the southern town of Deir Qanoun-Ras al-Ain, including seven medics from rescue groups affiliated with Hezbollah and its Shiite ally Amal.

The Israeli military said more than 150 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel. One barrage set fire to parked cars and a building in a Haifa suburb. Three people suffered moderate and light wounds, the national ambulance service said.

'TESTING THE WATERS'

In Beirut, Hezbollah official Mohammad Afif linked intensified political contacts to the looming change of US leadership. "There is a great movement between Washington and Moscow and Tehran and a number of capitals," he said.

"We hear a lot of talk, but so far, according to my information, nothing official has reached Lebanon or us in this regard," he told a news conference. The contacts were "in the phase of testing the waters and presenting initial ideas".

Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was due to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken later on Monday in Washington, the State Department said.

Israel Hayom reported on Sunday that substantial progress has been made in diplomatic negotiations over a proposed Lebanon ceasefire that would require Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River, barring its military presence near the Israeli border, while the IDF would return to the international border.

Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's best-selling newspaper, reported on Monday that Israel and Lebanon have exchanged drafts through US envoy Amos Hochstein, signaling progress in efforts to reach a final agreement.

The Lebanese government, which includes Hezbollah, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire based on the full implementation of a UN Resolution that ended a war between the group and Israel in 2006.

The resolution calls for the area south of the Litani river to be free of all weapons other than those of the Lebanese state. Lebanon and Israel have accused each other of violating the resolution.

Israel says its campaign aims to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people forced to evacuate the north due to rockets fired by Hezbollah, which opened fire on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas.

Israel's offensive has forced more than 1 million people to flee their homes in Lebanon in the last seven weeks. Since the eruption of hostilities a year ago, Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,243 people in Lebanon, the vast majority of them since late September, according to health ministry figures, which do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah attacks have killed roughly 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon over the last year. 



Marzouki’s Case Referred to Anti-Terrorism Unit, Former Tunisian President Faces 20 New Charges

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)
TT

Marzouki’s Case Referred to Anti-Terrorism Unit, Former Tunisian President Faces 20 New Charges

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki announced on Tuesday that he had been informed his case had been transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Judicial Unit. He now faces 20 charges, including inciting internal unrest and spreading false information.
Marzouki wrote on X that his brother, Mokhles, was summoned on Monday to the police station of El Kantaoui (governorate of Sousse) to sign a document stating that Moncef Marzouki’s case had been referred to the Anti-Terrorist Judicial Unit.
Marzouki wrote that he had already been convicted to four and eight years in prison in two separate cases.
He concluded his post with a famous quote borrowed from Abu al-Qasim al-Shabi, “Night will no doubt dissipate.”
Last February, a Tunisian court sentenced former president Moncef Marzouki to eight years in prison in absentia.
The charges against Marzouki, who lives in Paris, stemmed from remarks he made that authorities said violated laws and triggered incitement to overthrow the government.
Marzouki served as the first democratically elected president of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014.
This is the second time Moncef Marzouki has been sentenced for comments made at demonstrations and on social media. In December 2021, he received a four-year sentence for undermining state security.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Defence Minister Khaled S'hili announced that Tunisia's national army had dismantled terrorist camps, neutralized 62 landmines, and seized various materials and equipment in 2024, as part of ongoing efforts in the fight against terrorism.
As of October 31, the Tunisian army had conducted 990 anti-terrorist operations in suspected areas, including large-scale operations in the country's mountainous regions. These operations involved over 19,500 military personnel, according to Defense Minister Khaled S'hili, speaking at a joint session of the two chambers of parliament.
He then confirmed that these operations led to the arrest of around 695 smugglers and the seizure of 375,000 drug pills.