Biden administration officials are holding talks with Hezbollah mediators and officials in Israel and Lebanon to avoid escalation in the northern sector as well, The New York Times reported Friday.
The talks are being led by Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to the Biden administration who was also behind the talks between Israel and Lebanon on the maritime border, which ended in a historic agreement that resolved the dispute over the maritime border between the two countries. Hochstein and the US administration want to restore calm on the northern border and prevent an escalation that would lead to war between Israel and Lebanon. Messages conveyed from the American side to Israel and Lebanon included a warning of an imminent escalation and a call for restraint to prevent a war that would result in Iran and other terrorist proxies joining, and as a result could bring the United States into the fray as well.
Amos Hochstein at a meeting in Lebanon (archive), photo: Reuters
The United States does not hold direct negotiations with Hezbollah, which it considers a terrorist organization. According to a Lebanese source, the Lebanese foreign minister, along with the prime minister and parliament speaker, act as Hezbollah mediators in the talks. The Biden administration wants to bring about a long-term agreement that will restore stability along the northern border and allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return home. Among other things, the report claims that the American administration is demanding the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from the northern border with Israel, while the Israeli demand is to distance at least 5 kilometers from the northern border. Distancing Hezbollah forces from the border will reduce the chances that Hezbollah terrorists will be able to recreate the massacre carried out by Hamas on October <>, when it entered Israel through the southern border due to its close proximity to the communities near the Gaza Strip.
Biden administration officials have not taken an official position on how far Hezbollah forces should be required to move north from the Israeli-Lebanese border to maintain their flexibility in negotiations, but they believe the distance could be more than five kilometers.
U.S. officials quoted in the article said they hoped Hezbollah, which they said was sensitive to local public opinion, would abide by the agreement, citing the example of Hezbollah's agreement to the maritime agreement and polls showing that more than 80 percent of the Lebanese public is not interested in war with Israel.
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