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Israel gave the U.S. a document last week with its conditions for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Lebanon and allow displaced civilians from both sides of the border to return to their homes, two U.S. officials and two Israeli officials told Axios.
Why it matters: The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office gave the paper to the White House ahead of President Biden’s envoy Amos Hochstein’s visit to Beirut on Monday to discuss a diplomatic solution to the conflict, Israeli officials said.
Behind the scenes: The U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, who is a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sent the document to Hochstein on Thursday.
- Israeli officials said the paper came out of discussions Dermer had with the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the Israel Defense Forces about the principles Israel demands be part of any diplomatic solution to end the war with Hezbollah.
- One Israeli demand is that the IDF be allowed to engage in “active enforcement” to make sure Hezbollah doesn’t rearm and rebuild its military infrastructure in the areas of southern Lebanon that are close to the border, an Israeli official said.
- The official added that Israel also demands its air force have freedom of operation in Lebanese air space.
Friction point: These two demands contradict UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which states that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) enforce a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
- “We are talking about 1701 with increased enforcement. Our main message is that if the Lebanese army and UNIFIL do more, the IDF will do less and the other way around”, the Israeli official told me.
- A U.S. official said it is highly unlikely Lebanon and the international community would agree to these conditions, which would dramatically undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty.
- The White House and the Israeli embassy in Washington declined to comment.
Driving the news: Hochstein is expected to arrive in Beirut on Monday and meet with acting prime minister Najib Mikati, speaker of parliament Nabih Berri and other Lebanese officials and discuss the Israeli demands.
- Berri told Al-Arabiya on Sunday that Hochstein’s visit is “the last chance before the U.S. elections to reach a solution” to the war in Lebanon.
- He stressed there is consensus in Lebanon about UN Resolution 1701 and made clear he refuses to amend it in any way, which is effectively what Israel is demanding.
Between the lines: Hochstein is pushing for a wide-ranging deployment of the Lebanese armed forces in southern Lebanon as part of every diplomatic solution that ends the war in Lebanon, U.S. and Israeli officials say.
- In recent years, the Lebanese army had very limited forces in the area, which was mostly controlled by Hezbollah.
- Hochstein wants to have at least 8,000 Lebanese troops deployed in southern Lebanon, the officials said.
- The U.S. envoy also wants to upgrade UNIFIL’s mandate so it would be able to help the Lebanese army prevent armed individuals or groups who are not under the control of the Lebanese government from being deployed near the border with Israel.
- U.S. officials admit that since the 2006 war, UNIFIL barely enforced resolution 1701 and didn’t prevent Hezbollah from building wide-ranging military infrastructure in southern Lebanon in violation of the resolution.
State of play: On Sunday night ahead of Hochstein’s visit, the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes across Lebanon against dozens of targets affiliated with Hezbollah’s bank, including a building in Beirut, the IDF said.
- A senior Israeli intelligence official said in a briefing with reporters that the bank operated independently of the Lebanese financial system and was not under the supervision of the government or the central bank.
- According to the Israeli intelligence official, the Hezbollah bank received hundreds of millions of dollars from Iran annually and played a key role in funding the group’s operations.