The President of the United States, Joe Bidenappeared this Tuesday from the White House to announce the success of his ceasefire plan in Lebanon between Israel and the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
Peace, the president stressed, is designed to be “permanent.” “As of tomorrow at four in the morning,” he continues, “the war will be over.. Biden is also convinced that the plan designed by his team and agreed to by all parties involved – Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah and presumably Iran – will not only restore the situation before October 8, 2023, when Lebanese Islamists joined Hamas’s war against Hamas. the Jewish State, but rather offers a new opportunity for “security and prosperity” to a Lebanon governed interim since 2022 and strangled by the influence of the militia party in the country. Particularly in the territories south of the Litani River, where the Israelis have been deployed for two and a half months.
In the next sixty days, Biden explained, the 70,000 internally displaced Israelis and the 300,000 Lebanese will be able to return, little by little, “to their homes, to their schools, to their farms, to their businesses, to their lives,” and Israeli troops will remove gradually. The next steps will be taken by the United States and France. Neither will deploy troops on the ground, he promised. They believe that it will be enough to provide the necessary means to local military, political and police authorities so that the agreement is “effectively implemented”, and thus prevent the re-emergence of Hezbollah – or the emergence of a substitute.
The statement from the President of the United States, two months after completing his term and handing over to the Republican Donald Trumphad an air of redemption, but not a finished work. Biden, with the enthusiasm of the Lebanon deal on his back, urged a cornered Hamas to accept a ceasefire that involves the release of the hundred hostages – at least 35 of them are presumed dead – which he still holds since the massacre and mass kidnapping of Jews on 7-O.
A fragile truce
For months, Biden has been criticized by much of the Democratic base for maintaining the supply of weapons and munitions that Israel has used to fight Hamas in Gaza’s urban centers. Many of his former supporters have criticized Netanyahu for his loyalty, now vindicated by international justice, and hold him responsible for the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians and the devastation of one of the most densely populated regions in the world.
At the same time, Biden’s diplomacy was working toward a ceasefire that would alleviate civilian suffering while meeting Tel Aviv’s security requirements. So far he has not been successful.
The truce accepted by the Israeli Prime Minister only covers the Lebanese front and its solidity is questionable. Netanyahu was forceful. “Yeah [Hezbolá] tries to rebuild the terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack,” he warned in an institutional message before the meeting with his ministers, the majority in favor of this pause. “If he fires a rocket, if he digs a tunnel, if he brings a truck with missiles, we will attack. “Any violation of the agreement will be punished by force.”
This Tuesday’s announcement, however, grants a victory to the outgoing president, concerned about his legacy and with a foreign policy that is highly questioned behind closed doors. Biden hopes that the commitments made on Tuesday will lay the foundation for lasting peace. Tel Aviv has at least recognized its desire to respect them.
