American plot against cease-fire in Gaza, Lebanon

By Afifeh Abedi

International affairs expert

There has been a noticeable shift in the public diplomacy approach of the American-Israeli-Western alliance, aiming to separate the peace process in the Gaza Strip from that of Lebanon, as well as both crises from a broader conflict with Iran. This political and public diplomacy is evident across various platforms.

The Israeli regime continues its ethnic cleansing in Gaza, prohibiting journalists and aid workers from entering the area to prevent the scale of humanitarian disasters from being reported beyond Palestinian borders. Simultaneously, Western and Hebrew media have been reporting details of a proposed cease-fire plan for Lebanon.
Israeli media recently claimed to have uncovered a draft of a potential cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. This plan, titled “Cease-fire Declaration and Related Commitments to Strengthen Security Arrangements and Necessary Actions to Implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701,” has been exchanged between Tel Aviv and Beirut. Strangely, there is no mention of Hezbollah in the proposal.

According to the American-Israeli cease-fire plan, Israel reserves the right to conduct military operations within Lebanon in coordination with the US, provided that Israel withdraws its forces from Lebanon in seven days and fully implements the agreement during a 60-day cease-fire. Moreover, the draft mentions the disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese army.
Amos Hochstein, US President Joe Biden’s envoy, has been responsible for drafting the cease-fire agreement between Lebanon and the Israeli regime. The terms of the draft are heavily biased in favor of Israel, with any potential commitments from the Lebanese government resembling a capitulation to Israeli demands.
In 2006, following the 33-day war, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1701 to halt hostilities between Hezbollah and the occupying army. The resolution mandates that the area between the Blue Line (the demarcation line between Lebanon and occupied Palestine) and the Litani River in southern Lebanon be free of armed forces and military equipment, except for the Lebanese army and UNIFIL troops. However, the proposed cease-fire grants Israel permission for military presence on Lebanese soil.
The plan is viewed as part of a larger strategy in the West Asia region, aimed at advancing aggressive and hegemonic Western-Israeli agendas. Key objectives include: 1) terminating the conflict in Lebanon by transforming it into internal strife; 2) suppressing and asserting Israeli dominance over the Gaza Strip; 3) shifting the conflict to territories further afield, such as Iran, Iraq, and Yemen; and 4) rendering other Islamic countries in the region passive in the face of regional developments.
These goals illustrate the intent to separate the Gaza cease-fire from that of Lebanon and further dissociate them from the proxy wars waged by the American-Israeli alliance against other members of the Resistance Axis.
From the outset of Israel’s aggression against the Gaza Strip, members of the Resistance Front have repeatedly emphasized that the primary focus should be ending the war in Gaza and halting the crimes of the Israeli regime in occupied Palestine. However, an analysis of Western-Israeli war diplomacy reveals a conspiratorial effort to manage the battlefield in favor of Israel, aimed at achieving long-term regional dominance.