Posted on 11/25/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon is close but not yet finalized.
His comments came amid reports that US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron will declare a 60-day ceasefire on the northern border on Tuesday.
“What I’d say is we have made significant progress with getting towards a resolution. That includes progress from where we were when I spoke to this last week, but we’re not done yet. Nothing is final until everything is final. We continue to work to try and get an agreement over the line. And we’re hopeful we can get one, but we need both of the parties to get to yes,” Miller said during a press briefing.
Asked by a reporter about the number of times US officials have stated that an agreement is close since late September, Miller replied, “I can tell you we are painfully aware, because this has been an incredibly frustrating process – both getting to a ceasefire and a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Lebanon and, also, the many rounds of negotiations to get a ceasefire in Gaza.”
“There are any number of stages where we have hoped that the parties would get to an agreement. And remember, that’s what it requires in these cases – it’s not the United States, but the parties to the agreement to say yes. There have been many times when we thought we were going to be getting to yes in both cases, and for various reasons the parties didn’t get there,” he added.
“That said,” continued Miller, “we believe we are close here. But that’s why you heard me come out and say nothing’s final until everything is final, because we know we don’t have a deal until there is one that has been fully agreed to by both sides.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli security cabinet will convene on Tuesday to discuss the details of the agreement between Israel and Lebanon that will lead to a ceasefire in the conflict with the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
Israeli sources said that in advance of the cabinet meeting, a final text of the agreement with Lebanon has been reached. Israel has reportedly given the green light to American mediator Amos Hochstein to move forward with the agreement.