Lebanon warns continued Israeli escalation jeopardizes negotiations
The continued Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon will jeopardize the negotiations with Israel, a Lebanese official warned on Tuesday.
"The continued violations will either lead to us not participating in the negotiations or to our participation with the sole condition of a ceasefire," the official told Al-Jazeera.
"We have informed Washington that a ceasefire is key to everything, and this situation cannot continue," the official added, noting that "Washington is determined to achieve a breakthrough in the Lebanese track, but (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu does not want a ceasefire."
"The U.S. sponsor of the negotiations must assume its responsibilities and impose a decisive and comprehensive ceasefire," the Lebanese official urged.
"We have informed Washington that Israel cannot eradicate the weapons by destroying Lebanon," the official added.
Confirming that "a draft declaration of intent with Israel, sponsored by the U.S., is being studied," the official said the Lebanese Army will not create a unit dedicated to disarming Hezbollah.
"We want to form a joint Lebanese-American committee to monitor the army's implementation of its commitments," the official said.
"We want to activate the work of the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) to monitor Israeli violations," the official added.
"Our goals with Hezbollah are the same, which is to reach a ceasefire, but our approach is different," the official said.
Lebanese sources meanwhile told Al-Arabiya that "the efforts to consolidate the ceasefire witnessed a decline over the past hours."
Source: Naharnet
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