Hochstein Promises a Gaza War Agreement Within Two Days… Aims to De-escalate Tensions /    Resistance Launches Rockets at Beit Hillel… Haradan: August 14 Equation Protects Lebanon

Albinaa’ Newspaper Headlines August 15, 2024

The political editor wrote

There’s nothing preventing Washington from launching negotiation sessions in Doha today, led by CIA Director William Burns, without Hamas present – just as negotiations began two days ago in Geneva on Sudan without the government delegation.

Washington may continue to hope for Hamas to join the Doha talks, just as it hoped for the Sudanese government’s participation in Geneva.

The irony lies in the responses: the Sudanese government delegation argued that negotiations were unnecessary, as the Jeddah Agreement simply needs to be implemented. Similarly, Hamas contends there’s no need to negotiate an agreement that’s already established, enshrined in a UN Security Council resolution, and aligned with the U.S. President’s initiative, which the resolution endorsed and Hamas accepted – but which the occupying entity’s government rejected.

Hamas has made it clear that it is willing to join negotiations once the focus shifts to implementing the agreement, not negotiating for the sake of delay and covering up further massacres. This stance comes as The New York Times reports on new conditions imposed by the occupying entity’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with his war partner and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant accusing him of deliberately sabotaging the negotiation process.

Sources tracking the negotiations and their influence on Iran’s and the resistance forces’ decisions regarding responses to Israeli attacks on Tehran and Beirut, as well as the assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh and Fouad Shukr, have reported that although Hamas has announced it will not participate in the talks, its delegation remains positioned to join if serious indications arise. While Iran and the resistance forces do not tie their response to the outcome of the Gaza agreement, they will consider the success of the negotiations in their calculations. However, they are firm in their commitment to respond and maintain their deterrence posture regardless of the negotiation outcome.

In Beirut, U.S. Presidential Envoy Amos Hochstein conducted a series of meetings, including a significant discussion with Speaker of the House Nabih Berri. After their meeting, Berri described the Doha negotiations as the last bullet. He conveyed that Hochstein stated the negotiations would be based on President Joe Biden’s initiative and revealed that Washington had applied considerable pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to compel him to accept Biden’s proposal.

As we await developments today and over the next two days, a state of high alert and suspense prevails, with the risk of escalation, especially if negotiations fail to yield an agreement. Last night, the resistance responded to the death of more civilians and the assassination of two of its fighters by targeting Beit Hillel with rockets. Lebanese commemorated the victory of the July 2006 war, which culminated in the resistance’s triumph on August 14, 2006. On this occasion, Syrian Social Nationalist Party leader Asaad Hardan addressed the Lebanese people, emphasising that the August 14 equation is the key to Lebanon’s protection today.