October 11, 2024
By Nasser Kandil
• Certain Lebanese factions are promoting the notion that seeking shelter under international resolutions, such as returning to Resolution 1701, is enough to protect Lebanon. This idea, once merely naive, has now become insidious. It deliberately overlooks the fact that Lebanon has long requested the implementation of this resolution, with the government reaffirming it daily, and the entry point to its execution is a ceasefire. Hezbollah has also made it clear that it does not oppose diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire, after which discussions can begin on implementing Lebanon’s and the occupying entity’s obligations under Resolution 1701.
• This position is part of the joint U.S.-French statement signed by Presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron, and endorsed by several Western and Arab nations. It is not an isolated Lebanese proposal but rather an acceptance of Washington’s initiative. Hezbollah’s stance reflects alignment with the government’s position. So, how did Washington respond?
• Washington framed Hezbollah’s acceptance of a ceasefire as a sign of weakness, as if irritated by Hezbollah’s stance and seeking to provoke it, in the hope that Hezbollah would retreat from this accepting position. More likely, however, this reaction was an attempt to avoid the responsibility this acceptance places on the U.S., exposing Tel Aviv and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the sole obstacle to their joint initiative with France, backed by Western and Arab nations.
• In 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had a high-handed tone at the beginning of the war, declaring that no ceasefire would be considered until Hezbollah agreed to disarm. But when it became clear that such an outcome was impossible, and as the war dragged on with the occupying army losing control, the U.S. and France proposed deploying multinational forces under Chapter VII in southern Lebanon. However, as the resistance rejected these terms, the proposal gradually shifted toward a solution granting UNIFIL inspection and deterrence powers. Eventually, it culminated in a compromise: deploying UNIFIL and the Lebanese army, with Hezbollah agreeing not to appear armed, once Tel Aviv could no longer sustain the war following its crushing defeats, most notably its failure to advance on the ground and the annihilation of their tanks in the Khiyam Plain and Wadi al-Hujeir.
• So, when will the UN Security Council decide to call for a ceasefire? The answer lies with Washington. It will not hesitate to use its veto as long as the occupying entity believes it can continue the war and withstand its toll. But when that changes, we will see Washington swiftly present a ceasefire proposal.
