US, allies call for 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah

The recent fighting is "intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation, says the joint statement

New York: The US, France and other allies have jointly called for an “immediate” 21-day ceasefire to allow for negotiations in the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 600 people in Lebanon in recent days.

The joint statement, negotiated on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, says the recent fighting is “intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation.” “We call for an immediate 21-day cease-fire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy,” the statement reads.

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“We call on all parties, including the Governments of Israel and Lebanon, to endorse the temporary cease-fire immediately.” There was no immediate reaction from the Israeli or Lebanese governments — or Hezbollah — but senior US officials said all parties were aware of the call for a ceasefire and would be speaking for themselves in the coming hours.

The officials said Hezbollah would not be a signatory to the cease-fire, but they believe the government of Lebanon would coordinate its acceptance with the group.

While the ceasefire call applies only to the Israel-Lebanon border, senior US officials said they were looking to use a three-week pause in fighting there to restart stalled negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. The nations calling for a ceasefire include the United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Work on the proposal came together quickly this week with President Joe Biden’s national security team, led by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, working with allies to get the deal together, according to a US official. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations, said the deal crystallized by late Wednesday afternoon during a conversation on the sidelines of the General Assembly between Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein have been meeting with Middle East allies in New York and have been in touch with Israeli officials about the proposal, one of the US officials said. An Israeli official said Netanyahu has given the green light to pursue a possible deal, but only if it includes the return of Israeli civilians to their homes. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati threw his support behind the French-US plan that “enjoys international support and which would put an end to this dirty war.” He called on the Security Council “to guarantee the withdrawal of Israel from all the occupied Lebanese territories and the violations that are repeated on a daily basis.”