After an intense diplomatic sequence at the United Nations (UN), France and the United States, joined by Arab and European countries, called on Wednesday for a temporary 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in order to avoid a situation spiraling out of control.
“It is time to reach a settlement on the Israeli-Lebanese border that guarantees security and allows civilians to return to their homes,” wrote US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron in a joint statement issued after their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
They said they had “worked together in recent days” to reach a joint call for a temporary ceasefire, also supported by the EU, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
“We call for an immediate 21-day ceasefire on the border between Lebanon and Israel to give diplomacy a chance” in connection with the situation in Lebanon and Gaza, all these countries specify in a joint statement, calling on “all parties, including the governments of Israel and Lebanon” to approve it.
This joint call is an “important breakthrough,” a senior American official commented, hoping that it will also “stimulate” discussions for a truce and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot first raised the call for a 21-day truce earlier in the day at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
A war between Israel and Hezbollah “is not inevitable,” he insisted, if all the actors commit themselves “resolutely” to a peaceful solution to the conflict.
“Possible” “generalized” war
The Franco-American initiative comes after intense discussions on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Earlier Wednesday, Joe Biden warned that a “general war is possible” in the Middle East, while Emmanuel Macron called “strongly on Israel to stop the escalation in Lebanon and on Hezbollah to stop the shooting.”
Israel cannot “without consequences, extend its operations to Lebanon,” the French president said, adding: “There cannot be a war in Lebanon,” a country where France has many nationals.
The Israeli army said on Wednesday that it was preparing “a possible entry” into Lebanese soil to strike Hezbollah, against which its air force is carrying out new deadly strikes, after intercepting a missile fired at Tel Aviv.
Regional conflagration
“Hell is breaking loose in Lebanon,” warned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The Middle East is “on the brink of total catastrophe,” warned Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, assuring that Tehran would support Lebanon “by all means.”
For his part, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said his country would prefer to use diplomatic channels to secure its northern border with Lebanon, but would use “all means” at its disposal if diplomacy failed.
Diplomats are busy seeking a way out amid an elusive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
“We are working tirelessly with our partners to avoid all-out war and move forward with a diplomatic process that would allow Israelis and Lebanese people to return home,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Privately, diplomats nevertheless stress how difficult these discussions are and how uncertain the outcome is.
Asked after the Security Council about the possibility of a ceasefire soon, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said: “I hope so, yes.” He warned of an impact that could go far beyond Lebanon and the Middle East.
Endless War
Many Arab and Muslim leaders, but not only, harshly attacked Israel during this annual diplomatic high mass, multiplying their condemnations against the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accused by the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of “dragging the entire region into war”.
And the ways out of the crisis are narrow.
Washington has always believed that a ceasefire in Gaza, accompanied by the release of hostages held by Hamas, remains the best way to encourage a diplomatic solution between Israel and Hezbollah.
Especially since the pro-Iranian Shiite group claims to be acting in support of the Palestinian Sunni group Hamas in Gaza, which launched an unprecedented deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7.
For now, negotiations to obtain such a ceasefire, led jointly by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, are at an impasse. Israel has remained deaf to calls for de-escalation, opening this second front in the north, after months of exchanges of fire.
A staunch supporter of Israel, Joe Biden has so far refused to use the lever of US-supplied weapons, with the exception of a bomb delivery in May. And a change in strategy seems unlikely as the November 5 presidential election approaches.