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Monday, October 28, 2024
PM denies report Israel, US discussing limiting Lebanon operation in exchange for IDF future freedom of action
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denies a Channel 12 report that Israel and the US are in discussions over a plan that would see the IDF refrain from expanding its ground operation in southern Lebanon, while the White House would support Israel’s freedom of action in Lebanon in the future to prevent Hezbollah from rearming
Talks on the matter have taken place between Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, according to the report.
However, the Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel that the report is “a total fiction.”
An Israeli source told The Times of Israel yesterday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is eager to wrap up fighting in Lebanon with a diplomatic arrangement that locks in Israel’s demands that Hezbollah remove itself from southern Lebanon.
According to Channel 12, the US is looking for a 60-day ceasefire, during which time the details of the new arrangements in southern Lebanon will be hammered out, including Israel’s freedom to strike Hezbollah when it tries to restore its military infrastructure in the south and smuggle in weapons.
The Times of Israel Community.