NNA - House Speaker Nabih Berri received today at Ain al-Tineh Palace American presidential envoy Amos Hochstein, in the presence of US Ambassador to Lebanon, Lisa Johnson, and the media advisor to Speaker Berri, Ali Hamdan, where the general situation and latest political and field developments in Lebanon and the region were discussed, amidst the continued Israeli aggression against Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
Following the meeting, Hochstein expressed his well-wishes on the Adha occasion despite the difficult prevailing circumstances, for which reason US President Joe Biden commissioned Hochstein to visit Lebanon, as he indicated. "The meeting and conversations I had with Speaker Nabih Berri were good. We discussed the security and political situation in Lebanon and the proposed agreement on the table regarding Gaza, which allows for ending the conflict on both sides of the Blue Line,” he added.
The American envoy continued: "The agreement set by President Biden on May 31, 2024, which includes the release of hostages and a permanent ceasefire to end the war on Gaza, was accepted by the Israeli side and had the approval of Qatar, Egypt, the G7, and the UN Security Council. This agreement ends the war on Gaza and sets a withdrawal program for Israeli forces. If this is what Hamas wants, they must accept it.”
Hochstein went on to indicate that "a ceasefire in Gaza that ends the war, or another political solution that ends the conflict on both sides of the Blue Line, will create conditions for the displaced to return to their homes in the south, and the same will apply to civilians on the other side."
"The conflict on both sides of the Blue Line between Hezbollah and Israel has gone on long enough, and innocents are dying, property being destroyed, families being dispersed, the Lebanese economy continuing its decline, and the country suffering, not for a good reason...It is in everyone’s interest to resolve the conflict quickly and politically, and this is possible, necessary, and within reach," Hochstein concluded.
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