Bou Saab accuses Israel of increasing bombardment to wring concessions

Deputy parliament speaker Elias Bou Saab accused Israel of ramping up its bombardment of Lebanon in order to pressure the government to make concessions in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah.

Bou Saab said Monday that the pressure has increased because “we are close to the hour that is decisive regarding reaching a ceasefire.”

“We are optimistic, and there is hope, but nothing is guaranteed with a person like (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu),” Bou Saab told reporters.

Israel has carried out heavy strikes in central Beirut in recent days, while Hezbollah has increased its rocket fire into Israel.

The United States is trying to broker an agreement in which Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces would withdraw from southern Lebanon and Lebanese troops would patrol the region, along with a U.N. peacekeeping force.

Israel has demanded freedom of action to strike Hezbollah if it violates the ceasefire, but Bou Saab said that was not part of the emerging agreement.

He also said Israel had accepted that France be part of the committee overseeing the ceasefire after Lebanese officials insisted. There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli side.

On Monday, an official familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing behind-the-scenes negotiations, said that France would be part of the monitoring committee.

Israel has objected to France being on the committee in the wake of the International Criminal Court’s decision last week to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military commander.

France said it supports the court. It said the question of whether it would arrest Netanyahu if he set foot on French soil was a “complex legal issue” that would have to be worked out.