Netanyahu to US envoys: Any Hezbollah ceasefire must guarantee Israel security
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein and Middle East adviser Brett McGurk Thursday that any ceasefire deal with Hezbollah would have to guarantee Israeli security.
"The prime minister specified that the main issue is not paperwork for this or that deal, but Israel's determination and capacity to ensure the deal's application and to prevent any threat to its security from Lebanon," Netanyahu's office said after the meeting in Jerusalem.
Speaking at a military academy in Israel's Negev desert later Thursday, Netanyahu told reservists he appreciated American support in the ongoing wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, but would not accede to any and all U.S. demands.
"My policy is simple. I say yes when it's possible, but I say no when it's needed," he told trainee officers.
"Hamas will no longer control Gaza and Hezbollah will not settle on our northern border," he added.
"We are also blocking weapons supply chains from Iran to Hezbollah via Syria and from there to Lebanon."
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met the U.S. envoys separately Thursday.
In a statement he said they discussed "security arrangements as these relate to the northern arena and Lebanon, and efforts to ensure the return of 101 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza."
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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