Paris is pursuing its mission in Lebanon and Israel to find common ground on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to restore stability on both sides of the southern border.
A joint delegation from the French Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs and the Armed Forces is currently in Beirut to discuss with Lebanese officials ways of implementing Resolution 1701.
The delegation, made up of Frederic Mondolini, Director of Political and Security Affairs at the Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs, and Alice Rufo, Director General of External Relations and Strategy at the Ministry of the Armed Forces, first traveled to Tel Aviv for talks on the same issue.
They are continuing the mission launched at the end of November by Jean-Yves Le Drian, French President Emmanuel Macron’s envoy to Lebanon, and completed a few days ago by Bernad Emié, director of the DGSE, who visited Tel Aviv and then Beirut.
Amending Resolution 1701 is out of question, according to several diplomatic sources, who say that Israel and Lebanon are exchanging views through French envoys on the implementation of this Resolution, which both parties want.
Bernard Emié conveyed a message from Tel Aviv to the Lebanese authorities demanding, in accordance with this Resolution, a demilitarized zone south of the Litani River, in which only the Lebanese Army and security forces, as well as UNIFIL, would be present.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which is under intense pressure from representatives and residents of Israeli villages bordering Lebanon, who accuse it of failing to guarantee their security, wants to keep Hezbollah, and in particular its elite al-Radwane unit, away from its northern border. It has declared itself in favor of a diplomatic solution to the military conflict with Hezbollah but has threatened that it will not wait forever for such a solution.
According to the Al-Markaziya news agency, the Lebanese authorities have not yet given a precise answer to the Israelis via the French envoys. For Beirut, which reiterates its attachment to 1701, Tel Aviv should first stop its attacks on Lebanon.
This was reiterated by the Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdallah Bou Habib, during his meeting with Rufo and Mondolini at his office in downtown Beirut. He said he was in favor of the full implementation of Resolution 1701, pointing out that Lebanon had recorded “more than 30,000 Israeli violations of this resolution” since 2006. He also called for greater support for the army, which he said was “fundamental to the implementation of this Resolution.”
Bou Habib also insisted on the need to stop Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and called for the demarcation of the land border, which he told his visitors would require an Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese sectors. He also demanded that Israel stop violating Lebanese airspace to attack Syria.
According to Al-Markaziya, the Lebanese reply to Tel Aviv should be sent before the end of the year.
The results of the French mission should then determine the role of the United States, which, in the event of a ceasefire in the south, would intervene through its envoy, Amos Hochstein, to start negotiations on the demarcation of the land border with Israel.
But we’re not there yet. Because Iran, through Hezbollah, needs to be convinced of the importance of restoring stability to the border with Israel, which, according to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, has become a support front for Gaza. And for him to be convinced of this, he will have to obtain something in return.
Until then, France is trying to prevent the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel from degenerating and to pave the way for a diplomatic solution on behalf of the Quintet, of which it is a member along with the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar.
The French delegation, which visited the head of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, MP Fadi Alameh, informed him of Paris’ concerns about a possible deterioration of the situation in the south of the country.
It also told him that there was no question of amending 1701 and that all the efforts currently being made were aimed at finding a solution through diplomatic channels.
Accompanied by the French ambassador, Hervé Magro, and the military attaché to the French embassy, Gregory Medina, the delegation then visited the commander-in-chief of the army, General Joseph Aoun, with whom it assessed the situation on the southern border. The delegation stressed the importance of the army’s role in maintaining security and stability at this time.
