“Imagine releasing two statements calling for a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon as if the government of Lebanon has any agency and sovereignty,” wrote Jason Brodsky, of United Against Nuclear Iran.
By Menachem Wecker, Andrew Bernard
The United States, Australia, Canada, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar called jointly on Wednesday night for an “immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement.”
Minutes before the statement went out, U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron stated that “it is time for a settlement on the Israel-Lebanon border that ensures safety and security to enable civilians to return to their homes.”
Neither of the two statements referred to Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terror group, which has launched thousands of rockets at the Jewish state since Oct. 8. Israel has targeted launch sites and missiles tied to Hezbollah and has not declared war on Lebanon.
In a call with reporters on Wednesday night, a senior U.S. official referred to the proposal as an “important breakthrough.”
“There is no government of Lebanon,” wrote Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “No mention here of Hezbollah or Hamas.”
“Imagine releasing two statements calling for a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon as if the government of Lebanon has any agency and sovereignty without mention of Hezbollah, which holds the power here,” wrote Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran.
“That’s how disconnected from reality this sounds,” Brodsky wrote.
Kabir Taneja, a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, wrote that it is “strange that Biden-Macron joint statement on border conflict between Israel and Lebanon fails to clarify the fact that the military exchange taking place is with Hezbollah, not the Lebanese armed forces.”
‘Non-state actors’
In the press call on Wednesday night, two senior U.S. officials said that they hope that the 21-day ceasefire “might also open up diplomatic space as well to galvanize efforts on the very important primary effort we have to bring the hostages home.”
“During those 21 days, the parties will negotiate towards an eventual resolution of the conflict that has been ongoing since Hezbollah launched the attack on Oct. 8 and to reach a comprehensive agreement along the Blue Line that allows for residents to return to their home in both Lebanon and Israel,” per one of the senior officials.
One of the senior officials told reporters that although the Lebanese and Israeli governments will respond for themselves, “I can share that we have had this conversation with the parties and felt this was the right moment to issue the call based on our discussion.”
“They are familiar with the text, and we’ll let them speak with their actions of accepting the deal in the coming hours,” one of the senior U.S. officials said.
Asked why the call is for a 21-day ceasefire, one of the senior officials said “there’s no real magic formula to it.”
“We were looking for a period of time that would be a sustained space that was long enough to allow for negotiations on a realistic basis—to be able to reach a complicated agreement during that period of time,” the official said. “So that’s why 21 days.”
“We negotiate consistently. We negotiate and we deal with the sovereign state of Lebanon, with its leadership. We have been doing that for months. For the last 48 hours, we have been doing that nonstop all day and night,” one of the officials said.
Asked what it means that the statement addresses Lebanon, and not Hezbollah, one of the senior U.S. officials said that the Lebanese government is “responsible in speaking for the State of Lebanon and for everything that happens on that side of the border.”
“Who they negotiate with and deal with as far as the non-state actors in Lebanon, that is, I think they’re aware of the responsibility that they have to speak on behalf of the country for the state,” the official said.
‘Nobody’s interest’
The joint statement between the 10 countries and the EU stated that a settlement would be “consistent with UNSCR 1701, and the implementation of UNSCR 2735 regarding a ceasefire in Gaza,” referring to two United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“The situation between Lebanon and Israel since Oct. 8, 2023 is intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation,” the countries and the EU stated. “This is in nobody’s interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon.”
“It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety,” the group added. “Diplomacy however cannot succeed amid an escalation of this conflict.”
It called on “all parties, including the governments of Israel and Lebanon, to endorse the temporary ceasefire immediately” and “to give a real chance to a diplomatic settlement.”
“We are then prepared to fully support all diplomatic efforts to conclude an agreement between Lebanon and Israel within this period, building on efforts over the last months, that ends this crisis altogether,” it said.
In their statement, Biden and Macron said that “the exchange of fire since Oct. 7, and in particular over the past two weeks, threatens a much broader conflict, and harm to civilians.
“We therefore have worked together in recent days on a joint call for a temporary ceasefire to give diplomacy a chance to succeed and avoid further escalations across the border,” the duo said. “We call for broad endorsement and for the immediate support of the governments of Israel and Lebanon.”
Philip Klein, the editor of National Review Online, wrote that “now that Israel has retaliated to end nearly a year of bombardment, Biden calls for a ceasefire to spare Hezbollah. He is a disgrace.”
Earlier in the day, Macron appeared to blame the Jewish state for targeting the Hezbollah terror organization.
“There must be no war in Lebanon,” he stated. “We strongly urge Israel to stop the escalation in Lebanon, Hezbollah to cease firing towards Israel, and all those providing them with the means to do so to stop.”
