Lebanese Official: Truce Possible if Israel Halts Attacks, Assassinations

Hezbollah and Speaker Nabih Berri informed U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein during his recent visit to Beirut that there could be a “new phase on the southern front” if Israel halts its war and assassinations. They described this potential new phase as a “truce,” according to a senior Lebanese official.

Hochstein found this position encouraging because Hezbollah did not condition pacification and the truce on the cessation of security operations in occupied Palestine, but rather on their cessation specifically in Lebanon, particularly in the south, the official told Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.

When asked about what Lebanon should anticipate if there is a truce in the south, the senior official said, “Hochstein will promptly arrive in the region to initiate negotiations on finalizing the land border between Lebanon and Israel and upgrading the cessation of hostilities stipulated in U.N. resolution 1701 into a permanent ceasefire.”