news

as the international community promotes peace talks, the prime minister throws cold water: what is a ceasefire? the army fights with all its strength

2024-09-27

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

financial associated press, september 26 (editor shi zhengcheng)just before israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu was about to appear at the united nations general assembly, he poured cold water on people who were expecting the conflict in the middle east to cool down.

in a statement posted on social media, netanyahu's office said,media reports suggesting that israel will immediately reach a ceasefire with lebanon are "wrong" and he has instructed the israeli army to "fight with all its strength."

the statement emphasized that the so-called "ceasefire" mentioned by the media was only a proposal by the united states and france, and the prime minister did not even respond to it. in addition, netanyahu's instruction to the northern army to cease fire is completely contrary to the facts. he has instructed the military to continue fighting with all its strength as planned. the statement concluded by emphasizing that the fighting in gaza will continue until all war goals are achieved.

netanyahu to appear at united nations

according to the schedule,netanyahu will arrive in new york on thursday and will address the united nations general assembly later in the day. the background of major global forces gathering in new york naturally becomes a good opportunity to promote peace talks. there is no doubt that netanyahu will be under great pressure during this trip based on the current attitude of the international community towards israel.

as a background,the united states, europe and arab countries on wednesday proposed a three-week ceasefire between lebanon and israel to pave the way for negotiations. some media quoted senior us government officials as saying that the israeli and lebanese governments are expected to accept the agreement soon.

biden himself, in an interview with nbc's "the view" on wednesday, envisioned that the lebanese-israeli ceasefire framework could be viewed as a diplomatic process and could lead to greater peace outcomes - including in his final months in office. a ceasefire agreement in gaza has been ongoing but lacks results. "i don't want to exaggerate, butif we can get a ceasefire in lebanon, then there's the possibility of moving on to dealing with the west bank and gaza - so, that's possible.

(source: abc)

all parties are concerned that if the conflict between israel and lebanon continues to escalate, it may lead to a more deadly "cycle of violence" and make peace even more elusive. lebanese hezbollah has always stated that it will stop attacks on northern israel if a ceasefire is achieved in gaza, but israel refuses to link the lebanese-israeli conflict with the gaza war.

the lebanese government stated,since monday, israel's ongoing attacks in southern lebanon and the bekaa valley have killed more than 600 people, including at least 50 children

in addition to international public opinion, netanyahu is also under tremendous domestic political pressure, and his far-right allies are generally strongly opposed to a ceasefire with hezbollah. after the news of the ceasefire proposal came out, far-right finance minister smotrich said that the enemy cannot be given time to recover from the heavy losses. they will reorganize and continue the war in 21 days. national security minister ben guvir also said his party would convene an emergency meeting - a veiled threat to netanyahu's fragile political coalition.

there are also different views within the biden administration

according to us media reports, even within the biden administration, there are two factions on the lebanese-israeli issue:some officials believe that israel's bombing of lebanon is reckless, while others are cautiously supportive, expecting that israel's tough offensive will weaken hezbollah and force it to retreat, that is, "escalation to deescalation.". u.s. officials who support this logic believe that all parties are actively promoting diplomatic efforts, but the "leverage" comes from israel's military escalation.

of course, under the current circumstances in the middle east, whether israel's behavior is effective has also been widely questioned.

according to a senior u.s. state department official speaking at the opening of the un general assembly this week: "i cannot recall a single period, at least in recent memory, of escalation or intensification that resulted in a fundamental de-escalation and profound stabilization of the situation.

u.s. defense department officials also stated that the u.s. military will not directly intervene in conflicts in the region and will only enhance israel's air defense capabilities when israeli territory is under an "overwhelming attack." for example, on april 13 this year, u.s. warships and fighter jets helped shoot down coordinated attacks from iran and its allies.

the official also said: "the u.s. policy of military support for israel is not a blank check, but it is not unconditional either—you cannot open a new front without paying a price.in fact, that's not the quickest way to get your citizens back north of the border. defense secretary austin made it very clear that opening a new front with hezbollah in lebanon at this moment is not the way to ease tensions there. "

(shi zhengcheng of financial associated press)
report/feedback