JNS
The premier was said to have stressed "that the main point is not this or that agreement on paper but Israel's ability and determination to enforce the agreement."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. presidential envoy Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk at his office in Jerusalem on Thursday amid ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire deal in Lebanon.
According to a readout from the Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu thanked "our American friends" for their efforts to bring about a truce in the war between the Israel Defense Forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
He was said to have emphasized that "the main point is not this or that agreement on paper but Israel's ability and determination to enforce the agreement and thwart any threat to its security from Lebanon in a manner that will return our residents securely to their homes."
Hochstein, deputy assistant to U.S. President Joe Biden and a senior adviser for energy and investment, and McGurk, special coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, arrived in Israel earlier on Thursday.
Senior Israeli and American government officials told U.S.-based Israeli reporter Barak Ravid that an agreement could be reached within weeks.
Netanyahu convened a meeting with several ministers and military and intelligence officials earlier this week to discuss a potential ceasefire.
A leaked draft deal published by Israel's Kan News public channel on Wednesday evening calls for a pullout of all IDF soldiers from Southern Lebanon within seven days, while Hezbollah and other terrorist groups are urged to withdraw from the border area within 60 days after signing.
The draft deal states that "Israel and Lebanon recognize the importance of UNSCR 1701 to achieving lasting peace and security and commit to taking steps toward its full implementation," in reference to the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
The United States, alongside other unspecified countries, as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), would supervise the implementation of the deal, which leaves room for Israeli defensive actions against re-emerging terrorist threats from Lebanon.
Responding to the report, Sean Savett, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, stated on Wednesday that "there are many reports and drafts circulating. They do not reflect the current state of negotiations."
Hochstein and McGurk met separately with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, among other officials, on Thursday, Israel's Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The talks focused on "strategic challenges and opportunities in the region—namely security arrangements as these relate to the northern arena and Lebanon, and efforts to ensure the return of 101 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza," according to the readout from Jerusalem.
The meetings on Thursday came as two Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel's north killed seven people and seriously wounded another.
Hezbollah has been committing near-daily rocket, missile and drone attacks against the Jewish state since Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Gaza's Hamas led a mass invasion of southern Israel, murdering some 1,200 people, kidnapping 251 others and committing widespread atrocities.
Jerusalem has escalated attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah since adding the safe return home of some 60,000 residents evacuated from towns along Israel's northern border to its official war goals on Sept. 17.
On Wednesday, newly minted Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed to continue the “war program” of his slain predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah. Commenting on the Oct. 19 drone assault on Netanyahu's residence, he warned: "The resistance has reached Netanyahu's bedroom, and our diplomatic communications have confirmed that he is scared."
Speaking at a military ceremony on Thursday evening, the Israeli prime minister said, "We are dismantling the axis of evil through calculated blows. Terrorist armies will no longer sit at our borders. Hamas will no longer control the Gaza Strip, and Hezbollah will not sit on our northern border in its positions to invade just a few meters from our borders."
Regarding the Lebanon ceasefire talks, Netanyahu declared, "The agreements, the papers, the proposals, the numbers—1559, 1701—all these have their place, but they are not the most important thing."
The premier added, "The main thing is our ability and determination to enforce security, to thwart attacks, and to act against the arming of our enemies as much as necessary, despite the pressures and constraints."
