As Netanyahu warms to Israel-Lebanon deal, US role comes into play
Sources are saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to reach a deal with Hezbollah, while realizing that the "rise or fall" of any arrangement will hinge on the enforcement mechanism.
TEL AVIV — Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to sign a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which will include a US military role for monitoring the agreement, according to various diplomatic sources who have spoken with Al-Monitor.
Netanyahu’s decision, said the diplomatic sources, stems from a desire to please US President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he wants a cease-fire in Lebanon before he takes office on Jan. 20 and has signed off on US envoy Amos Hochstein's mediation efforts.
"The prime minister knows that the arrangement with Lebanon and Hezbollah will rise or fall on the enforcement mechanism," one of Netanyahu's associates told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. "He also knows that Hezbollah will never sign an agreement that explicitly gives Israel military freedom of action in Lebanon."
"But there is a good chance that Israel will agree to sign the arrangement anyway even if the issue of enforcement is anchored in a side letter between it and the United States and the international community," the source added.
