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.
