Hochstein to visit Tel Aviv, Qatari envoy to visit Beirut
U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein will meet Monday in Tel Aviv with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the the possibility of halting the ongoing war on Lebanon, media reports said.
Hochstein will later visit Beirut if he receives a positive response from Netanyahu, the reports added.
A senior Qatari security official will meanwile visit Beirut in the coming days to discuss Lebanon’s demands and concerns, with a diplomatic source saying that Speaker Nabih Berri has informed Egypt and Qatar that Hezbollah has agreed to separate Lebanon’s front from Gaza and to implement Resolution 1701.
Berri’s press office however said the remarks attributed to Berri about the negotiations were inaccurate.
Informed sources meanwhile told al-Joumhouria newspaper that “the U.S. mediator has been tasked by the U.S. administration to exert extraordinary efforts to convince Israel to agree to the ceasefire according to Resolution 1701’s stipulations, as long as the Lebanese side has declared its commitment to it and as long as the Israeli army has said that it has pushed most of Hezbollah’s fighters away from the border.”
“The U.S. side wants to swiftly reach an understanding between Israel and Lebanon over this issue, prior to the date of the U.S. elections if possible,” the sources added.
Ad-Diyar newspaper for its part said that Hochstein will carry a proposal for a two-month truce on the Lebanese border in order to “begin implementing 1701.”
Source: Naharnet
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