Lebanon delays response to French paper, awaits US intervention

With the escalation of tension on the southern front on Monday, the Lebanese government postponed its response to the paper on "Security Arrangements between Lebanon and Israel." 

This article is originally published in, translated from Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

The paper was carried by French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné earlier this month to Beirut, and the government requested that it be converted into an official document. 

According to informed sources, the response was postponed because the paper "did not adhere to diplomatic norms, as it does not have the logo of the French Foreign Ministry or the French Embassy in Beirut." 

Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib announced on Monday, after he met with Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Serail, "that we discussed responding to the French proposal, and we prepare the message we agreed upon, and the points we will address, and the response will be with the French next week." 

He indicated that "our position is known: we want full and comprehensive implementation of Resolution 1701, including Shebaa and Kfarchouba," stressing that "we welcome the French role, and the French are concerned about Lebanon and its safety." 

However, sources told "Al-Akhbar" that the Lebanese side understood that Paris is not in a position to play a constructive role because the French stance since the outset of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation has been aligned and harmonious with the Israeli interest, to the extent that the French paper seems as if it were "drafted in Tel Aviv." 

In addition, all parties are convinced that Paris cannot conduct negotiations and reach agreements independently from Washington.

Similarly, there is a belief among the majority of officials in the necessity of waiting for the results of the ongoing negotiations in Cairo and Doha regarding Gaza, and that if they lead to a temporary truce, it means that there is a great possibility for the US envoy, Amos Hochstein, to visit the region and Lebanon, carrying proposals to stop the escalation in the south. 

It is worth noting here that Lebanese official sources have heard that the US envoy has "a proposal, the details of which have not been revealed yet, pending the outcome of the negotiations, so it is better to wait for developments in the next two weeks.

"If the US envoy comes, the discussion will be directly with the authentic, considering that Washington is the party that will conclude any future agreement with it," officials added. 

Furthermore, Hezbollah, one of the most concerned parties with the paper, refuses any discussion of any measures before stopping the aggression on Gaza.

This means that the French proposal to end the escalation, which stipulates the withdrawal of the party at least 10 kilometers north of the border, cessation of fire, and the formation of a committee to monitor the process and the entry of the army into the south, does not seem to have a place at present.

So, there is no need for an official Lebanese response right now.