Israel has given the green light to a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah that would see the terror group leave southern Lebanon and Israel withdraw its forces.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government supports the proposals drawn up by the United States, sources told The Telegraph ahead of a cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday, when ministers will vote on the deal.
Elias Bou Saab, the deputy speaker of Lebanon’s parliament, also expressed optimism about a ceasefire on Monday, saying that there were “no serious obstacles” left.
However, several ministers in Israel have expressed opposition to a deal, including Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, who called an agreement “a big mistake.”
Speaking to The Telegraph on condition of anonymity, an Israeli official warned that sticking points remained, including the question of Israel’s right to act against Hezbollah if the group violated the ceasefire.
There were also concerns on Monday over France’s role in the talks, after Paris threatened to arrest Mr Netanyahu under an International Criminal Court warrant.
The US media outlet Axios cited a US official as saying that Joe Biden had told Emmanuel Macron that Mr Netanyahu’s anger was justified as it would be impossible to be part of a mediation while promising to arrest him if he set foot on French soil.The issue was reportedly solved on Monday.
Israel reportedly agreed to allow France to play a role in the implementation of the deal in return for Paris taking steps to improve relations with Jerusalem.
It sent troops into Lebanon in October after almost a year of cross-border air strikes and rocket fire from both sides.
The US ceasefire proposal, largely built on UN Security Council resolution 1701, stipulates that Israel must withdraw its forces from Lebanon, while Hezbollah must remove its forces from the south of the country.
Israel is expected to receive assurances from the US that it can act against violations of the deal as long as it is coordinated with Washington.
The latter has been a sticking point for Lebanon, which has strongly objected to the possibility of Israel violating its sovereignty after a ceasefire. The Lebanese army would instead be deployed near the border with Israel to prevent Hezbollah from regrouping and rearming.
The US will lead an oversight committee in charge of monitoring Hezbollah’s activities in Lebanon.
Ha’aretz, the Israeli newspaper, reported that the ceasefire would be carried out n several stages, eventually leading to negotiations over the land border between Lebanon and Israel, which remain disputed to this day.
“There’s cautious hope for a ceasefire and a lot can go wrong until then,” the Israeli official added.
A senior Israeli official told The Telegraph there was high confidence that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah “will happen soon”.
The deal still faces stiff opposition from ministers such as Mr Ben-Gvir, who has previously threatened to bring down the government to stop peace agreements with Hamas in Gaza.
“Precisely now, when Hezbollah is beaten and longs for a ceasefire, it is forbidden to stop. As I warned before in Gaza, I warn now as well – it is not too late to stop this agreement. We must continue until the absolute victory,” he said on Monday.
Mayors of northern Israeli towns that have sustained daily Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks over the past year also voiced their opposition to a deal.
“This agreement hastens [a repeat of] Oct 7 in the north and this cannot happen. I don’t understand how we went from total victory to total surrender,” said Avichai Stern, the mayor of Kiryat Shmona.
Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s foreign minister, said on Monday that “any violation will be dealt with immediately”.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, said: “We will make sure we will have the ability to neutralise any threat from southern Lebanon. I hope the Lebanese army will take care of that in the future. But if they fail again, we will be there.”
Mr Danon said Israel would continue to coordinate with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), adding: “I expect they would be more effective this time. We don’t expect them to fight, but we expect them to report.”
Hezbollah started attacking Israel on Oct 8 in solidarity with Hamas, and has fired at least 13,000 missiles, drones and rockets at Israel since, killing 75 people. Israel has launched thousands of air strikes and attacks against Hezbollah across Lebanon, killing more than 3,500.
