Hochstein: Separating the Lebanon and Gaza Fronts Was Key to the Agreement, Iran Also Supported It

The U.S. special envoy who facilitated the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah Lebanon after about 14 months of war emphasized Iran's support for the agreement and expressed hope for its 'sustainability,' stating that separating the fronts of Lebanon and Gaza was key to reaching the agreement. At the same time, the Biden administration is preparing a new $680 million arms sale deal to Israel in its final weeks in office. Amos Hochstein, the Biden administration's representative in negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, on Wednesday, December 7, during the ceasefire's commencement between the Israeli army and Hezbollah in Lebanon, shared details of recent efforts to reach an agreement with representatives of American Jewish communities and in interviews with CNN and Israel's Channel 12. He stated that Iran supported the agreement and that separating the Lebanon front from the Gaza front has pressured the extremist group Hamas to return to the negotiating table. The extremist group Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Europe. Hochstein remarked, 'Everyone blames Israel, but as President Biden said, Hamas, which has refrained from returning to the negotiating table for months, now realizes that Hezbollah has also negotiated with Israel and ended its war with Israel.' According to him, 'Israel is no longer engaged on two fronts, and Iran's support for the ceasefire agreement has effectively intensified Hamas's isolation in the Palestinian arena.' Hochstein stated that Israel never claimed it wanted to completely eliminate Hezbollah and that the ongoing war was not Israel's war with Lebanon. He added, 'The agreement reached is focused on preventing a resurgence of violence and maintaining a centralized monitoring mechanism, and Israel will share any violations by Hezbollah, such as rebuilding weapons factories or digging tunnels, with Lebanon and the monitoring committee.' This American diplomat said that any violation would face 'significant' actions. Under this agreement, the Israeli army will gradually withdraw from Lebanon over 60 days, while the Lebanese army will replace the Israeli army in southern Lebanon, and according to Hochstein, Hezbollah or remaining members of this group must leave the area. Hezbollah is a militia group and also a political party that controls a large part of southern Lebanon. The United States considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization, but the European Union has blacklisted its military wing while not designating its political wing as terrorist. The political wing of Hezbollah also has representatives in the Lebanese parliament. Hassan Nasrallah, the deceased Secretary-General of Hezbollah, had emphasized in his last speech that his group would 'never' agree to separate the Lebanon front from Gaza and that his group's military campaign against Israel would only end when Israel ended the war on Gaza and withdrew its forces from Gaza. Nasrallah had also stressed that he would never agree to withdraw his group's forces from below the Litani River line. In the ceasefire agreement reached, which began implementation at dawn on December 7, Hezbollah did not condition the end of its operations against Israel on the end of the Gaza war, and Lebanon has also committed to removing all militias and their weapons from southern Lebanon. Hochstein also told Israel's Channel 12 that Israel's 'significant achievements' on the battlefield created the groundwork for severing the connection between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Gaza and achieving the agreement. According to him, the demands of some Israeli politicians, such as Naftali Bennett, who want to 'crush' Hezbollah, are 'fantasy' and this will 'never happen.' Hochstein said that unlike UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which he has criticized since 2006, the new agreement provides the necessary mechanisms for monitoring and directing as well as supporting the Lebanese army. He also stated that he informed Donald Trump's team about the details of the agreement and collaborated with them in his efforts. Hochstein said it was very important that Trump's team supported the agreement and would implement it in a few weeks when they come to power. 'A secret clause regarding Iran' Israel's Channel 12 reported that the agreement between Israel and the U.S. regarding the ceasefire in Lebanon includes a 'secret clause' under which the U.S. will 'cooperate' with Israel on matters related to Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu explained on Tuesday night the reasons he convinced his cabinet to accept the ceasefire agreement, stating that Israel's focus would now be on Iran to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. At the same time, an American official told Reuters on Wednesday that the Biden administration is advancing a $680 million arms sale package to Israel. The Financial Times had previously reported on this deal. The new package follows a $20 billion deal approved this summer for the sale of fighter jets and new military equipment to Israel. Netanyahu stated on Tuesday night that the need to acquire new military equipment was one of the three reasons for accepting the ceasefire agreement and said, 'I clearly say and it is not hidden from anyone that there have been significant delays in the delivery of weapons and ammunition, but these problems will soon be resolved.' According to Israeli Channel Kan, his remarks were a jab at the restrictions on the provision of certain American weapons during the war by the Biden administration. 'Why the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is a win-win agreement?' The U.S. Senate recently rejected three proposals by Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders to prevent arms sales to Israel in a bipartisan show of support. However, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department refrained from confirming or denying the new arms deal with Israel on Wednesday. Matthew Miller stated, 'U.S. support for Israel's security against all threats from Iran is unwavering.' '4,000 human casualties of Hezbollah and 100,000 destroyed homes' Reuters reported a day after the ceasefire began that Hezbollah is still counting its human casualties and has a long and costly road ahead to recover from the blows inflicted by the war. Three sources familiar with Hezbollah's operations in Lebanon told Reuters that the number of the group's killed forces could be several thousand, most of whom were killed in the last two months when the Israeli attack against the group intensified. Another source close to Hezbollah said the group may have lost up to 4,000 of its forces. This figure is ten times higher than the casualties of this Tehran-allied group in the 34-day war 18 years ago. Lebanese officials have referred to around 3,800 deaths over the past 14 months without distinguishing between casualties among militants and civilians. Reuters, citing Lebanese sources, estimated that at least 100,000 homes have been destroyed in the Dahiyeh and southern Lebanon. In Israel, about 2,900 homes in the north of the country were damaged, with civilian casualties at 42 and military deaths at 73.