BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a televised speech aired on Wednesday that his group had reviewed and given feedback on a U.S.-drafted ceasefire proposal to end fighting with Israel, and that a halt to hostilities was now in Israel’s hands.
Qassem made his comments in a pre-recorded address aired a few hours after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein said he would head to Israel to try to close a deal on a truce, after two days of meetings with Lebanese officials including two sit-downs with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.
Qassem said his Iran-backed group had seen the draft U.S. deal and provided feedback.
“These comments were presented to the U.S. envoy and they were discussed with him in detail,” Qassem said. “The comments we presented show that we approve this track of indirect negotiations through Speaker Berri.”
But he rejected the notion that Israel would be able to keep striking Hezbollah even after a truce is reached, saying that Israel should not be allowed to breach Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Qassem said a deal now depended on Israel’s response and the “seriousness” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – and that Hezbollah would keep negotiating and fighting at the same time.
Specifically, he said any strikes on central Beirut would be met with Hezbollah fire onto Tel Aviv. Hezbollah launched missiles at Tel Aviv on Monday, after deadly Israeli bombardments hit the heart of Beirut on both Sunday and Monday.
Israel’s year-long battle with Hezbollah in Lebanon has killed more than 3,500 people, the vast majority of them in the last two months, and left much of the country’s south, east and the southern suburbs of Beirut in ruins.
After a ceasefire takes effect, Hezbollah would help rebuild Lebanon alongside the Lebanese state and remain a player in Lebanon’s political scene, Qassem said, with an “effective” role in electing a president. Political divides in Lebanon have kept the post vacant for more than two years.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Alison Williams, Alexandra Hudson)