Lebanon: Final US Warning For Politicians Obstructing Government Formation

 US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale talks during a news conference in Beirut, January 14, 2019. (Reuters/Mohamed Azakir).
US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale talks during a news conference in Beirut, January 14, 2019. (Reuters/Mohamed Azakir).
TT

Lebanon: Final US Warning For Politicians Obstructing Government Formation

 US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale talks during a news conference in Beirut, January 14, 2019. (Reuters/Mohamed Azakir).
US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale talks during a news conference in Beirut, January 14, 2019. (Reuters/Mohamed Azakir).

On the first day of his visit to Beirut, US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale advised Lebanese politicians to speed up the formation of a new government, warning that continued stalling would further drag the country into total collapse, well-informed Lebanese sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

According to the sources, the message that Hale would deliver to President Michel Aoun during their meeting this Thursday would go beyond a mere call to form the government to directly hold the president responsible for the ongoing obstruction.

Hale would be implicitly hinting at the negative role assumed by Aoun’s political heir and son-in-law - the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Gebran Bassil – in putting obstacles to the birth of the new government.

The same sources confirmed that Hale asked about the reasons behind the stalled resumption of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on the demarcation of the maritime borders under the auspices of the United Nations and with American mediation.

They noted that Speaker Nabih Berri has informed the US official that he put the framework agreement for the negotiations without defining the disputed maritime areas, leaving the negotiation task to the Lebanese delegation.

According to the sources, Berri emphasized that he has been supporting the formation of the new government since eight months and proposed an initiative to the impasse, adding that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has shown utmost flexibility.

In this context, Hale stressed that one of the conditions for the international community to help Lebanon was that the concerned parties take the initiative to help themselves and be able to respond to the demands of the Lebanese people, the political sources underlined.

They quoted the US official as saying that Lebanon would not be able to move immediately from total collapse to recovery, and benefit from international support unless the government was formed as quickly as possible.

Accordingly, the sources believe that Hale issued the last warning for Lebanon’s politicians to form a government before it was too late.



Biden, Macron to Declare 60-Day Ceasefire between Hezbollah, Israel on Tuesday

 Smoke and flame rise after an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP)
Smoke and flame rise after an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP)
TT

Biden, Macron to Declare 60-Day Ceasefire between Hezbollah, Israel on Tuesday

 Smoke and flame rise after an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP)
Smoke and flame rise after an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP)

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron will declare on Tuesday morning a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Asharq Al-Awsat learned from widely informed sources on Monday.

Washington has spoken of “cautious optimism” that the US proposal for a ceasefire could be a success. The proposal calls for Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the area between the Blue Line and Litani River in a manner that can be verified. In return Israeli forces will withdraw from the regions they occupied since they carried out their limited invasion of Lebanon.

The discussions the US government had on the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire were positive and are headed in the right direction towards a deal, the White House said on Monday.

"We're close," said White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. "The discussions ... were constructive, and we believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction. But, yeah, nothing is done until everything is done." 

The relative positivity prevailed in spite of the ongoing wide-scale military operations between Israel and Hezbollah in the South and Israel’s air raids deep in Lebanese territory. Hezbollah has also fired rockets deep in Israel, reaching Tel Aviv.

Analysts have said the intense attacks suggest that both Israel and Hezbollah are trying to maximize their leverage as diplomats conduct what they hope is a final round of ceasefire talks, reported the New York Times on Monday.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the terms included a 60-day truce during which Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters pull back from border areas and the Lebanese Army and a United Nations peacekeeping force increase their presence in a buffer zone.

But officials have also warned that the two sides may not be able to finalize a deal, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure from right-wing allies not to end the military campaign.

Israel’s hard-line national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said in a social media post on Monday that the proposed deal would be a “historic missed opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”

Observers meanwhile told Asharq Al-Awsat that all pending issues related to the US proposal have been resolved from the Lebanese side, while Israel has some lingering reservations.

Israeli officials said Netanyahu’s security Cabinet is set to convene on Tuesday to discuss the ceasefire proposal.

Two officials confirmed the Cabinet meeting is set for Tuesday, but they said it is still not clear whether the decision-making body will vote to approve the deal.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal deliberations.