President Joe Biden joined French President Emmanuel Macron and several other countries in proposing a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah on Wednesday night, just as Israel has begun destroying the terrorist organization.
The ceasefire demand does not mention Hezbollah and calls for compliance only with the Lebanese and Israeli governments, nor does it mention Iran, a country that provides weapons, funding and training to Hezbollah terrorists.
Hezbollah began shelling Israel in October last year, violating an existing ceasefire, based on 2006 UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which required Hezbollah to disarm and withdraw from the border.
The UN has failed to enforce a ceasefire, allowing Hezbollah to gain power in southern Lebanon, and Israel evacuated more than 60,000 of its citizens from their homes in October, while focusing its military efforts on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israel began its full-scale counterattack last week, disrupting Hezbollah's communications, killing many of its top officials, destroying some of its weapons, and preparing for a ground invasion, Breitbart News reported.
World leaders gathered at the United Nations this week, the Security Council met on the crisis and the Biden administration, along with several other countries, proposed a 21-day ceasefire that led to a permanent agreement.
America and France issued The “joint statement by the United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Qatar” stated:
The situation in Lebanon and Israel after October 8, 2023 is intolerable and carries an unacceptable risk of escalating tensions across the region. This is in the interests of neither the Israeli nor the Lebanese people.
The time has come to reach a diplomatic solution that allows civilians on both sides of the border to return safely to their homes.
But diplomacy is unlikely to succeed as the conflict escalates.
We therefore call for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanese-Israeli border to allow space for diplomacy to conclude a diplomatic solution in line with UNSCR 1701 and to implement UNSCR 2735 on the ceasefire in Gaza.
We call on all parties, including the governments of Israel and Lebanon, to immediately approve a temporary ceasefire during this period in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and allow a genuine opportunity for a diplomatic solution.
We stand ready to fully support all diplomatic efforts to build on the efforts of the past few months and reach an agreement between Lebanon and Israel within this time frame, and to put a complete end to this crisis.
Biden's special envoy, Ambassador Amos Hochstein, has failed to broker a diplomatic deal over the past year, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office described him on Wednesday as “competent” but unable to resolve the crisis.
Hezbollah has reportedly demanded that Israel abandon its mountainside observation posts on the Israeli side of the border, meaning Israel, not Hezbollah, would be forced to demilitarize the border and make it vulnerable.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday It airs Sundays from 7:00pm-10:00pm ET (4:00pm-7:00pm PT) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of the following books: Agenda: What President Trump Should Do in His First 100 Daysavailable for pre-order on Amazon. He also The Trump Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump's Presidencyavailable now on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
