The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported Tuesday morning, citing senior sources, that the US special envoy, Amos Hochstein, will meet with Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Elias Abu Saab in one of the European capitals, with the two already talking on the phone regularly. According to the report, Beirut already has a list of demands for an arrangement, apart from Nasrallah's condition: an end to the war against Hamas in Gaza.
IDF attacks in village of Kila in southern Lebanon
Hochstein is expected to visit Lebanon later this week. Sources quoted by Al-Akhbar noted that Washington was apparently convinced that a military option would not benefit Israel in confronting Hezbollah, pushing the administration to support negotiations in order to lay the groundwork for a future settlement.
According to the report, Hochstein will be faced with the following demands from the Lebanese side:
1. A solution regarding point B1 in Ras al-Naqoura, i.e., a change of sovereignty over the buoys line. An issue that was not resolved in the maritime border agreement.
2. Restoring Lebanese control over the a-Naqoura Tunnel, one of the railway tunnels at Rosh Hanikra, located on the land border with Israel and sealed.
3. Ensuring that Israel does not commit violations along the Blue Line (the border with Lebanon), both at sea, on land and in the air.
4. Establishing the status of the land disputed points from Naqoura to the northern part of the village of Rajar.
5. Recommencement of Total drilling work in potential offshore gas detection areas near the border with Israel.
According to Al-Akhbar, while Lebanon insists on including in any understanding the establishment of the status of the Shebaa Farms in the Har Dov area and Israel's withdrawal from the area, Hochstein informed the mediators that his mission is limited to the Blue Line only, and that the Shebaa Farm file is not part of his agenda, since it is a Lebanese-Syrian matter.
Hochstein meeting with Galant and senior defense officials, photo: Ariel Hermony, Ministry of Defense
According to sources in Lebanon, Hochstein hopes to prevent further escalation of the war on the northern front and lead to calm. However, these sources believe that the move depends not only on the war in Gaza, but also on the political situation in Lebanon, where there has been no president in office for more than a year.
Meanwhile, Germany's foreign minister is expected to visit Lebanon on Tuesday, with the Lebanese side announcing yesterday that they reject the proposal to deploy foreign emergency forces in the border area with Israel, apart from UNIFIL.
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