BEIRUT — No one knows whether rush negotiations for a ceasefire between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel will be successful until the end of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, a Western diplomat in Beirut told NBC News on Thursday.
“The idea of strengthening even during negotiations is something that both sides can expect,” said the diplomat, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The diplomat did not rule out the possibility of escalation over the border, even as a broad coalition of diplomats is pushing for peace.
A multilateral proposal for a 21-day ceasefire between the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and Israel failed on Thursday morning, a proposal that could halt a sudden escalation in months of fighting and avert an all-out war. The night before, the high expectations were dashed. .
The treaty aims to be a long-term peace deal to resolve the nearly year-long conflict over the Lebanese-Hezbollah border, but more immediate objectives include a long-awaited Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon. The goal is to prevent potential escalation. Or the deployment of a larger and more sophisticated missile arsenal, which Hezbollah is believed to still have in reserve.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly withdrew his support for the proposal on Thursday after right-wing ministers threatened to withdraw from government if the treaty was signed.
But increasingly belligerent rhetoric from the Israeli military, hinting at an imminent ground invasion, has subsided as diplomats scramble to secure a pause in fighting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Still, the diplomat warned that continuing negotiations may not stop what the Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff called an “operation.”
“We can expect anything. The past two weeks have shown us that anything is possible on both sides, especially the Israeli side,” the Western diplomat said. “We have seen Israel’s ability to do the unexpected.”
