On Sunday, it was announced simultaneously in Beirut and Tel Aviv that the American envoy, Amos Hochstein, would visit Lebanon and Israel on Monday.
This article was originally published in and translated from the Lebanese newspaper Nidaa Al-Watan.
According to Israeli media, Hochstein is visiting Israel before moving to the Lebanese capital. A White House official confirmed the news of the visit.
Diplomatic sources told "Nidaa Al-Watan" that the American envoy seeks to include the expected truce in the Gaza war on the southern front.
They indicated that "Hochstein's efforts in Tel Aviv recently focused on linking the ceasefire in Gaza with calm on the border with Lebanon.
However, he did not obtain Israeli guarantees in this regard. Therefore, he will emphasize the importance of the ceasefire initiative from the Lebanese side and not wait for the final agreement on Gaza, which is now within reach. Thus, Hochstein will have a necessary card to present to the Israelis to prevent further escalation."
It pointed out that "Hochstein will explain the benefits of having a Lebanese ceasefire initiative, especially since Lebanese consensus is on implementing Resolution 1701, which will also facilitate the start of rebuilding what was destroyed in the border strip area."
The schedule of meetings for the American envoy in Lebanon includes meetings with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, in addition to Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab.
As for Israel, Hochstein's meetings include Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, and Mossad Director David Barnea.
On the eve of Hochstein's arrival in the region, diplomatic sources said that a similar visit to Lebanon did not follow the American envoy's recent visit to Israel in early February.
The reason was attributed to the fact that matters "were not mature enough in Israel to discuss the Lebanese file."
They added that Hochstein's visit to Lebanon today "is related to the reality of the truce in Ramadan, as he seeks to include Hezbollah after Israel said that the truce in Gaza does not apply to the party."
They continued: "Hochstein will try to extract a comprehensive settlement that allows for the avoidance of war with Hezbollah if it resumes in Gaza. The ceasefire will be sufficient time for Hezbollah to fulfill the commitments outlined in this settlement."
In contrast, "Hezbollah will consider Israel's response to correcting the situation in the 13 disputed points on the southern border sufficient for it to retract its positions."
The sources concluded by saying, "The last time Hamas rockets were fired from the south was last week after 50 days had passed since the last similar incident, indicating the need to achieve unity in the truce in the south and Gaza. It seems that Hezbollah is in desperate need of a truce."
In a related context, well-informed sources told "Nidaa Al-Watan" that Hochstein's visit to Lebanon "falls within the same framework of unwritten proposals previously presented during his last visit, focusing on restoring calm to the southern borders to proceed with completing the discussions on the settlement of disputed land points."
The sources stated: "The meetings held at the headquarters of the international forces 'UNIFIL' in Naqoura previously, under American sponsorship represented by former Ambassador Dorothy Shea, between the Lebanese and Israeli military delegations, reached an agreement to resolve the conflict over 7 points out of the 13 points that the Lebanese government had previously reserved.''
It added that only 6 points remain along the Lebanese border stretching from Ras Al-Naqoura to the outskirts of the occupied Shebaa Farms. Consequently, resolving the remaining points of contention is possible.
The sources emphasized that easing tensions along the front could resolve the remaining points of conflict.
If Hochstein manages to achieve the implementation of the ceasefire, which has remained stalled and unimplemented as stated in Resolution 1701, it could contribute, along with ending military actions, to creating the necessary security and political conditions to search for a solution to the Shebaa Farms issue.
Bou Saab told Reuters that Hochstein's timing indicates progress to reach a ceasefire in Gaza "within the next few hours or days."
He said, "If that happens, I believe Hochstein's visit this time will be of great importance in monitoring the truce on our southern borders and discussing what is required for stability and preventing the possibility of war escalation with Lebanon."
Amidst these diplomatic developments, the Church reiterated its clear stance against dragging Lebanon into the midst of confrontations with Israel, which could lead to the danger of war escalation.
In his Sunday sermon, Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi said: "We in Lebanon must not allow anyone to drag our country into war, killing, destruction, displacement, and homelessness, without benefit, and for issues that Lebanese people in general have nothing to do with, nor our people in southern Lebanon."
In turn, Metropolitan Elias Audi, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut, questioned: "Isn't it wise to prevent Lebanon from sliding into a situation similar to what happened in Gaza?"