BEIRUT - Caution prevails regarding the future of the ceasefire negotiations coinciding with the tour of the US presidential envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. 

The Lebanese negotiators, i.e. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, had already informed the US embassy in Beirut of Lebanon’s position on the US proposal for a ceasefire.

The US proposal, consisting of more than 12 clauses, involves two problematic clauses, one regarding “the right of both parties to self-defense” and the other regarding “membership of the committee monitoring the implementation of UN resolution 1701”.

The Lebanese negotiator doubts the Israeli enemy’s insistence on the “right of self-defense” that is already enshrined in international laws, insisting that it cannot be included in a ceasefire agreement because the purpose is to obtain “legitimacy” for any aggression carried out after the war under the pretext of “self-defense”.
Besides, the Lebanese side has reservations about the membership of both Germany and the UK in the committee monitoring the implementation of UN resolution 1701, as well as the committee’s working mechanism.

During a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We were presented with three options regarding dealing with Hezbollah. My fourth option, however, is to destroy its missile capabilities,” ruling out that a “settlement” with Lebanon would be applicable.
 
Netanyahu stressed his adherence to the demands of the “freedom of action of the Israeli army” along with preventing the entry of weapons into Lebanon via Syria. 
Netanyahu’s position was followed by the assassination of Hezbollah’s media relations official, Muhammad Afif, in the heart of Beirut, and a raid on a civil services center in Zuqaq al-Blat, which led to the murder of five Lebanese civilians. Israel sought to justify the crime by alleging that it targeted one of Hezbollah’s operations rooms. 
Axios, which is linked to the Israeli intelligence unit 8200, revealed, according to Israeli officials, that the goal of intensifying the raids on Beirut is to increase pressure on Hezbollah to accept the ceasefire agreement. Axios also said that Tel Aviv has demanded that the Biden administration guarantee its freedom of movement in Lebanon. 
The Israeli army radio further confirmed Washington’s commitment to “supporting the entity’s right to move in Lebanon against threats that cannot be delayed.” 

In turn, the US embassy has doubted the efficiency of the negotiations in a desperate attempt to cover up Washington’s inability to pressure Tel Aviv as well as a crisis of confidence between the two parties. 

Meanwhile, Hezbollah struck Tel Aviv, the suburbs of Tel Aviv, Safed, Haifa, Karmiel, and sites and gatherings of occupation army soldiers. It also confronted an attempt to occupy the border city of Khiam and shot down a Hermes 450 drone. 
The US-led Israeli aggressors now have a golden opportunity to accept what Lebanon accepts, otherwise, they will be forced to accept even worse and more painful conditions in the coming days.