American envoy Amos Hochstein speaking with caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail, Nov. 7, 2023. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP archive photo)
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced on Monday that "a diplomatic solution" to the ongoing cross-border conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which erupted on Oct. 8, is in the making and set out Beirut's conditions for achieving it. In relation to this, he announced that US presidential envoy Amos Hochstein is expected back in Lebanon this week, following a visit to Israel at the end of last week.
In a long televised interview on the Alhurra channel, Mikati also addressed a number of domestic political issues, but above all the situation on the southern border, less than a week after the assassination of Hamas No. 2 Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut in a strike Israel is accused of perpetrating. Hamas ally Hezbollah retaliated on Saturday, firing dozens of rockets at a military base in northern Israel. And on Monday, Israel killed Wissam Hassan Tawil, an important Hezbollah military official.
Messages to Hochstein
"We are working on a diplomatic solution to the situation in southern Lebanon, the implementation of which is likely to be linked to an end to [Israeli] aggression in Gaza," Mikati told Alhurra.
"We need to go back to the armistice agreement [of 1949] and to the pre-1967 situation [in South Lebanon]," he added. "We will discuss all these issues with Amos Hochstein, who will be back in Beirut this week," the caretaker premier said.
The American emissary visited Tel Aviv last week to continue negotiations on a political settlement to the conflict with Lebanon. Such a settlement must include an agreement on the demarcation of the land border with Israel, following the October 2022 agreement on maritime demarcation.
According to several observers, the international community is currently pressing for the withdrawal of Hezbollah's Radwan force north of the Litani River, in full application of Security Council Resolution 1701. This resolution ened the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, and it provides for Hezbollah's withdrawal from south of the Litani River and the deployment of the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon at the border with Israel.
Asked about the warnings received by Lebanon about the possibility of war, Mikati replied, "Since Oct. 7, we have repeated that we are supporters of stability and call for a lasting peaceful solution. However, in return, we are receiving warnings from international envoys of destruction and war against Lebanon. My reiterated position to these envoys is this: Do you support the idea of destruction? And is what is happening in Gaza acceptable?"
He continued, "We have informed everyone of our readiness to conduct negotiations to achieve a long-term stabilization process in southern Lebanon, with a commitment to respect international decisions and the cease-fire agreement, as well as resolution 1701. When Israel entered Lebanon in 1978, a UN Security Council resolution ordered the reapplication of the armistice agreement [resolution 425]. We are under international legitimacy and demand the application of international resolutions by all protagonists."
Lebanon's conditions
Mikati went on to explain Lebanon's vision.
"What is required is the revitalization of the armistice agreement [of 1949], its application and the restoration of the situation in the south to what it was before 1967, including the gradual return of the Shebaa Farms to Lebanese sovereignty. What is needed is a return to the previous withdrawal line under the armistice agreement."
Mikati continued, "The threats we are receiving suggest Hezbollah's withdrawal north of the Litani River, while we insist that this is part of discussions that should include Israel's total withdrawal from the territories it occupies, as well as a halt to its aggressions against Lebanon and its violations of Lebanese sovereignty."
The prime minister later added, "We have received a proposal for withdrawal north of the Litani River, but we insist on a comprehensive solution that includes resolving the issue of Hezbollah's weapons." He went on to say that Lebanon is reaching out to the international community to promote stability in the region. "If it succeeds in asserting Lebanon's rights, Hezbollah will have no objective other than the national interest," he stressed.
In the same context, Mikati recalled that Resolution 1701 stipulates the strengthening of the role of the Lebanese Army and cooperation with UNIFIL. "This requires an increase of around 10,000 in the army's strength and the reinforcement of its capabilities. We are ready to cooperate, provided we obtain the necessary guarantees to put an end to Israeli provocations, he said.
Earlier on Monday, Mikati had discussed the situation in south Lebanon with caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. At the end of the meeting, Bou Habib indicated that, after receiving the EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, at the end of last week, he would shortly be meeting the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock. Mikati told Alhurra that Baerbock would arrive in Beirut tomorrow, Tuesday. "No one has talked to us about deploying a German contingent to the border with Israel," he added, commenting on reports circulating in the press on Monday.
Presidential election at a standstill
The prime minister also addressed the issue of the appointment of a new chief of staff for the Lebanese Army, following the extension of the mandate of its chief, Joseph Aoun, which was passed by Parliament.
"There is agreement on the name of a new chief of staff, but this requires the opinion of the army's commander-in-chief. And if the defense minister has a proposal, let him make it," said Mikati, referring to Maurice Slim, with whom his relations are stormy. He continued., "The minister has my respect, but I regret the way he behaved after his last meeting with me."
As for the ongoing presidential vacuum, Mikati asserted: "If the war remains open, I don't think the presidency will move forward. This issue is moving forward at the pace of the situation in the region."
He did say, however, that the Group of Five (United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt) involved in the dossier would be meeting shortly to discuss it. Following this meeting, France's emissary, Jean-Yves Le Drian, will return to Lebanon.
