Israel has come with a list of conditions that must be met in order for Lebanon to live in “peace.” One of those conditions is the occupation of southern Lebanon.
The Israeli Defense Forces has demanded that the United States allow the Israel Defense Force (IDF) to freely operate in southern Lebanon as a condition to ending the war in the country, Axios reported on Monday, citing two Israeli and two U.S. official ruling class members.
According to further reporting by Axios, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office sent the list of demands to the White House last week, ahead of the visit of United States President Joe Biden’s envoy, Amos Hochstein, to Beirut on Monday where he is expected to discuss a diplomatic solution to the Lebanon conflict.
However, an Israeli official, speaking to Axios, argued that West Jerusalem’s proposal is meant to increase the enforcement provided for by the United Nations resolution. “Our main message is that if the Lebanese army and UNIFIL do more, the IDF will do less and the other way around,” he said.
Both of Israel’s “conditions” for a ceasefire contradict U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which states that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) enforce a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The IDF conducted yet another series of airstrikes across Lebanon on Sunday night, targeting branches of the Al Qard Al-Hassan Association – a banking system Israel claims is run by Hezbollah to manage its finances. Blasts were reported in Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. -RT
The U.S. and Israel have yet to comment on Axios’ reporting of the ceasefire conditions.
It is unlikely Lebanon and the U.N. will agree to Israel’s terms considering the contradiction with resolution 1701. It would also mean southern Lebanon would, for all intents and purposes, be under Israeli occupation. That’s also unlikely to be acceptable to Lebanon.
