New push to end Middle East wars faces some familiar challenges

BEIRUT (AP) — The United States and other mediators are stepping up efforts to halt wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, circulating new proposals to end the regional conflict in the final months of the Biden administration.

Negotiations on both fronts have been stalled for months and neither warring side has shown any sign of backing down from their demands.

Senior White House officials Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein will visit Israel on Thursday for talks on possible ceasefires in both Lebanon and Gaza, and the release of hostages held by Hamas. CIA Director Bill Burns will go to Egypt to discuss these efforts.

A proposal to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah calls for a two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the country’s southern border, two others said officials familiar with the conversations.

But Israel is unlikely to trust UN peacekeepers and Lebanese troops to keep Hezbollah out of the re-established buffer zone in Lebanon. It wants the freedom to attack the militants if necessary. Lebanese officials want a complete withdrawal.

Separately, the US, Egypt and Qatar have proposed a four-week ceasefire in Gaza in which Hamas would release up to 10 hostages, an Egyptian official and a Western diplomat said.

But Hamas still appears unwilling to release dozens of hostages without securing a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, even after the assassination of its top leader, Yahya Sinwar. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed for lasting Israeli control over parts of the territory.

In Lebanon an attempt to revive the UN resolution that ended the last war

During his visit to Beirut last week, Hochstein met with Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament. They agreed on a roadmap for implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, according to a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks. to discuss closed doors.

The resolution stipulates a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Lebanese territory, and withdrawal of all armed forces, except UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese Army, from the area south of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles). ) north of the border.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah’s newly elected leader, Naim Kassem, said the group would not do that “beg” for a ceasefire. “If the Israelis decide to stop the aggression, we say we accept it, but under the circumstances we deem appropriate,” he said. he said during a televised speech.

Israel has not publicly responded to the proposal to end the fighting in Lebanon, which began more than a year ago and dramatically intensified in mid-September. Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati told a Lebanese TV channel that he had spoken to Hochstein prior to his trip to Israel and that he “cautiously optimistic.”

U.S. officials say competing proposals for a ceasefire in Lebanon are being discussed, including an idea calling for an immediate ceasefire followed by two months to fully implement the resolution.

The Lebanese official said that once a ceasefire is reached, a 60-day period would begin during which the Lebanese army and peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL would deploy to the border area while Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters withdraw .

The Lebanese official said the roadmap includes increasing the number of UN peacekeepers from 10,000 to 15,000 and increasing the number of Lebanese troops south of the Litani from 4,000 to 15,000.

Resolution 1701 also called for “the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon”, including Hezbollah, but that is not part of the initial implementation phase under the current proposal.

Another official familiar with the talks said Israel has asked that any deal include measures to prevent Hezbollah from rearming and guarantee Israel can act in the buffer zone to combat threats from the militant group.

It is unclear whether Lebanon would agree to an agreement that would allow Israel to continue military operations on Lebanese territory. Lebanese officials have insisted that there should be no change to Resolution 1701, which stipulates a full Israeli withdrawal.

Hezbollah has said it will not stop its rocket fire into Israel unless there is a ceasefire in Gaza. It is not clear whether that position has changed after the killing of Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several other top commanders in Israeli airstrikes last month.

The US hopes the ceasefire initiatives can prevent the war in Lebanon from becoming as destructive as the war in Gaza, even as it supports Israel’s efforts to absorb Hezbollah infrastructure along the country’s southern border. cull, said U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Mediators propose a limited ceasefire in Gaza

The US, Egypt and Qatar have proposed a four-week ceasefire in Gaza that would see the release of eight to 10 hostages, a senior Egyptian official said.

Under the plan, humanitarian aid to Gaza would be scaled up, but there would be no guarantees of future talks on a permanent ceasefire, the official said.

Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 in the October 7 attack that sparked the war. More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to local health authorities. They did not say how many fighters, but said more than half were women and children.

About a hundred hostages are still being held in Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.

The latest proposal is based on an initiative by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who last week proposed a two-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of four hostages.

Netanyahu, who has always said he is open to temporary ceasefires for the release of hostages, said in a statement that he had not received a formal proposal based on the Egyptian initiative, but “would have accepted it immediately.”

Hamas has said it is open to discussing alternative proposals but stands by its demands for a lasting ceasefire, an Israeli withdrawal and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

The Egyptian official said the mediators were not optimistic.

A Western diplomat in Cairo confirmed that their government had been briefed on the proposal and said it was being pursued in parallel with ceasefire efforts in Lebanon. Both officials in Egypt spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the talks.

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Frankel reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.