©(Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
Amos Hochstein, Special Advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden, announced on CBS News that he is "supposed to return soon to the region" to continue efforts for a restoration of calm at the southern border between Lebanon and Israel.
He stated that the "window for diplomacy is still there”, adding, "the status-quo of where we are now can't last forever."
"We have two goals to achieve: to stop hostilities on both sides and to demarcate the land border to ensure long-term security and peace for Lebanon and Israel," he emphasized, noting that tens of thousands of residents in border areas of Lebanon and Israel have fled their homes and "are refugees in their own countries."
"After October 7, we need to make sure that Israelis and Lebanese can live in their homes in security, and that requires not only a cease-fire. It requires negotiations to ensure that the Lebanese army is in that area," Hochstein said.
He also stated, in response to a question, that he did not know of a "hard deadline" for a possible Israeli operation in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah. He was commenting on the threats from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and U.S. warnings that Tel Aviv would not wait beyond the end of the month for diplomatic efforts to restore calm to its northern border.
He stated that the "window for diplomacy is still there”, adding, "the status-quo of where we are now can't last forever."
"We have two goals to achieve: to stop hostilities on both sides and to demarcate the land border to ensure long-term security and peace for Lebanon and Israel," he emphasized, noting that tens of thousands of residents in border areas of Lebanon and Israel have fled their homes and "are refugees in their own countries."
"After October 7, we need to make sure that Israelis and Lebanese can live in their homes in security, and that requires not only a cease-fire. It requires negotiations to ensure that the Lebanese army is in that area," Hochstein said.
He also stated, in response to a question, that he did not know of a "hard deadline" for a possible Israeli operation in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah. He was commenting on the threats from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and U.S. warnings that Tel Aviv would not wait beyond the end of the month for diplomatic efforts to restore calm to its northern border.
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