Will Amos Hochstein’s visit bring an end to the war in the north?

Israel’s ground maneuver in Lebanon continues and even expands when the IDF is only adding divisions to the mission to cleanse the southern Lebanese countryside of Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure. At the same time, in recent days, the American envoy Amos Hochstein, born in Israel and a political advisor to the government, who is trying to bring order to the region according to UN Resolution 1701, arrived in Lebanon “7, in the framework of which Hezbollah will withdraw from the south of Lebanon to the other side of the Litani River.

Amos Hochstein and Benjamin Netanyahu; Credit: Amos Ben Gershom, p

Amos Hochstein – born in Israel, former special political advisor to Obama and Biden

As mentioned, Hochstein is a native of Israel. He was born and raised in Jerusalem and even served full time in the IDF in the Armored Corps. After his service he immigrated to the USA and since 2011 he has been working in the US government. He is best known for his activities and expertise in the field of energy, but over the years he has advised the US government “B also on various issues, where his most prominent role was a special political advisor during the Obama administration and the Biden administration.

Hochstein was sent to Lebanon to try to promote talks with the local government that would lead to the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 from the end of the Second Lebanon War, a decision in the framework of which Hezbollah would retreat north across the Litani River while Lebanese army forces would be deployed in southern Lebanon.

“We will conduct a significant discussion with the government of Lebanon and the government of Israel regarding the best way to bring about a cessation of hostilities and an end to the conflict,” Hochstein said at a press conference in Beirut. “This is my sixth or seventh visit to Lebanon in the last year. Although we tried for 11 months to contain the conflict, we were unable to resolve it. In each of my visits I warned that the situation is unsustainable, and that we must find a solution or things will get out of control.” Now, according to Hochstein, “the situation has indeed gotten out of control, as we feared would happen.”

“Resolution 1701 is no longer enough”

According to Hochstein, simply committing to a decision is no longer enough. There is a need for an effective and clear implementation mechanism, which will ensure that this time the decision will be fully implemented, and will create a reality in which Hezbollah will not be able to operate in southern Lebanon, and that the Lebanese army will be the leading and only force in the areas close to the border with Israel. He pointed out that part of the responsibility for this lies with the Lebanese government itself, which should commit to strengthening its armed forces and weakening Hezbollah’s position.

Hochstein emphasized that the ceasefire must be based on an accurate, transparent and fair implementation process of the decision, one that will ensure that everyone understands the way in which the permanent settlement will progress, with the aim of preventing another round of conflicts in the future.

Will Hochstein succeed in the task?

It is difficult to assess Hochstein’s chances of succeeding in his mission. Meanwhile, according to reports, there is talk of a temporary ceasefire for 21 days. Hezbollah of course wants to introduce amendments to resolution 1701 and reach some kind of compromise, but according to reports in Sky News in Arabic, this only causes the US to withdraw from such a move.

Since Resolution 1701 is of the UN Security Council, its amendment, which includes the addition or removal of articles, requires the approval of the Security Council, which also includes Russia and China, who are not expected to cooperate. According to some estimates, the visit will probably end without substantial progress.