US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that there has been “good progress” on efforts for full implementation of United Nations Security Council 1701 to bring an end to the conflict in Lebanon, but “we still have more work to do,” CNN reported.
“On Lebanon, let me just say that we are working very hard and making progress on reaching understandings of what would be required for the effective implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701,” Blinken said, noting that “this would be the basis of a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.”
“It’s important to make sure that we have clarity, both from Lebanon and from Israel, about what would be required under 1701 to get its effective implementation, the withdrawal of Hezbollah forces from the border, the deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces, the authorities under which they’d be acting, an appropriate enforcement mechanism,” the Secretary of State added.
“I can tell you that, based on my recent trip to the region, the work that’s ongoing right now we have making progress on those understandings. We still have more work to do, but that’s what’s necessary to get us to a diplomatic resolution, including through a ceasefire,” he said.
On Wednesday, a draft of the proposed ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah was revealed.
According to Kan 11 News, from the moment the deal is signed, Hezbollah and other armed groups in the area would not act against Israel. Israel, on its part, will not take offensive action against targets in Lebanon, including against military and government targets.
The main point of the agreement states that Israel and Lebanon would recognize the importance of UN Resolution 1701 and other than UNIFIL, the Lebanese Armed Forces would be the only armed force on the country's southern border.
Kan 11 News also reported that the document, drafted by the American mediator Amos Hochstein, was already presented to the Israeli political echelon.
On Thursday, White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk, Senior Advisor to the US President Amos Hochstein, and US Ambassador Jack Lew met with Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, to discuss a potential agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon.
The Prime Minister's Office stated that, during the meeting, "Netanyahu made it clear 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."