Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
US special envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut on Tuesday morning with a packed schedule of meetings. He is the special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security, and was successful in brokering a maritime border deal between Israel and Lebanon in 2022, but on this trip he is attempting to make a deal to avoid war between Israel and the Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah.
After the October 7 attack on Israel, the conflict in Gaza began. Hezbollah began strikes on October 8 in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance, and call for the end of Israeli military occupation.
The south of Lebanon was occupied by the Israeli military from 1985 to 2000. Israel had ruled the Lebanese with an iron fist, imprisoning hundreds of Lebanese in the infamous Khaim prison, including women and children. Hezbollah successfully brought about the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
On the latest leg of Hochstein’s regional de-escalation tour, he met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati at noon, after a morning meeting with both Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, and Lebanese Army head Joseph Aoun.
Hochstein was in Israel yesterday, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has dissolved his war cabinet after key members had resigned. Netanyahu is shackled by the extreme right-wing Jewish fanatics who prop-up his government, and refuse to consider any ceasefire in Gaza. Their only goal is the total extermination of the Palestinians in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a tour of the Middle East that a cease-fire in Gaza was the best way to end the violence between Hezbollah and Israel, and President Biden has pushed for a ceasefire proposal to end the suffering in Gaza.
UN officials have warned of a possible ‘miscalculation’ along Israel-Lebanon border which could erupt into a full-blown war between Lebanon and Israel, and likely opening a wider regional conflict which could be the end of Israel.
Israeli defense minister Gallant complained to Hochstein about Hezbollah’s almost daily attacks on Israel’s northern towns.
Israel has conducted targeted assassinations of top Hezbollah commanders in air raids across southern Lebanon and on Baalbek in the east. The continuing Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed civilians as well, and caused many communities to leave their homes.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Hochstein is holding indirect talks with Hezbollah through Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is the leader of another Lebanese resistance group, Amal, which is allied with Hezbollah.
Berri is a dual Lebanese-American citizen and has been the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament for the past three decades. He and Hochstein are discussing a possible agreement to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has stated a ceasefire in Gaza would bring a halt to attacks on the north of Israel. However, Israel’s refusal of the ceasefire proposal supported by Biden has kept the conflict ongoing.
US President Joe Biden stressed on Monday that he does not want to see escalation at the Lebanon-Israel border and suggested that the US is advancing a proposal to avert a large-scale conflict.
While Hezbollah has attacked mainly military targets, Israel responded by bombing villages across southern Lebanon and targeting Hezbollah positions.
Israeli officials have promised to push Hezbollah back from their country’s northern borders, after about 5,000 rockets have fell across the north and driven Israelis from their homes.
Some Israeli officials have been calling for a more forceful response to Hezbollah’s attacks and some have called for the destruction of the airport and port in Beirut. The Lebanese public are split over the support of Hezbollah, with a small minority against the resistance group, and aligned with the US and France.
Last week, Gallant rejected a French proposal for Israel, France and the US to form a working group to help avoid war at the Lebanese border. Gallant represents those who support the total annihilation of the Palestinians in Gaza as the only goal.
Global protests against the genocide in Gaza have had a massive effect on mobilizing the call for the end of the occupation of Palestine, and a demand for the UN resolution calling for a two-state solution to the conflict lasting 70 years.
However, Biden had continued to send weapons and cash to Israel in direct conflict with the US State Department regulations preventing US weapons being sent to countries likely to break humanitarian laws. The UN and others have accused Israel of apartheid, war crimes, and genocide.
Biden has proposed a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas; however, the extremists in the Netanyahu government have rejected the ceasefire. It appears that the Jewish feel they can defy and disappoint the White House without any repercussions.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist
