Amid reports that the US has asked Israel to scale down the intensity of its attacks in Gaza, some of the attention has shifted to the Israeli northern front with Lebanon. Since October 7, Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in a series of border skirmishes that have been relatively contained but which nonetheless have caused significant loss of life, with over 150 people killed, including combatants and civilians on both sides.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wrestling with a significant problem in northern Israel. His government evacuated most of the population there to avoid a repeat by Hezbollah of the October 7 Hamas assault, and tens of thousands of Israelis are waiting to return to the north. However, they refuse to do so without safety guarantees.
Israel wants a demilitarisation of the border region on the Lebanese side, from which Hezbollah and its allies would withdraw to the Litani River. This, Hezbollah will not do, even though Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, calls for an area “free of any armed personnel” between the border and the Litani, except for the Lebanese army and UN forces in Lebanon.
Israeli officials have threatened to launch an attack against Lebanon and impose a solution to their liking. US officials have told the Huffington Post they are worried Israel is seeking US weaponry to expand the war to the north. While it would be foolish to assert this will not happen, there is a major obstacle preventing Israel from taking such a path.
The Biden administration rejects this option, believing that a new Lebanon war is more likely to expand into a regional conflagration than the Israel-Gaza war. In mid-November, there were reports the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin had contacted his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, and, in “a direct and frank conversation” expressed “concerns” about Israel’s escalation on the Lebanese front, according to the informed journalist Barak Ravid.
Hezbollah does not want a final arrangement on the border that would deny it an excuse to keep up the military pressure on Israel
The coming year is an election year for US President Joe Biden. The last thing he needs is for his country to be caught up in another Middle East conflict. American voters are increasingly isolationist and strongly oppose US involvement in overseas wars. Mr Biden may feel, understandably, that a new regional war would sink his re-election chances.
To avert an explosion in Lebanon, the US sent an envoy, Amos Hochstein, to the region a few weeks ago. Mr Hochstein, a deputy assistant to Mr Biden, mediated the delineation of the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon last year. He has reportedly circulated a four-point plan to the Lebanese to calm the situation, one focused on delimiting the land border between Lebanon and Israel.
On its own, Mr Hochstein’s mission appears to indicate two things: Washington is keen to find a diplomatic way out of the Lebanese imbroglio, short of war; and, therefore, that rising Israeli threats may perhaps be more a dimension of Israel’s negotiating strategy than a clear intent to widen the Gaza war to Lebanon.
An implicit facet of Mr Hochstein’s proposal, if formalised, is that the negotiations for which he is calling are likely to extend beyond the time-frame of the Gaza conflict. In other words the envoy is buying time, and in that way, he may be aiming to lock the sides into talks that lower the prospects of a Lebanon war. He is said to believe that once the land border is agreed, Hezbollah’s justification for attacking Israel would be removed.
That is perhaps why such negotiations are likely to be difficult, if not impossible. Hezbollah does not want a final arrangement on the border that would deny it an excuse to keep up the military pressure on Israel, on behalf of its sponsor, Iran.
However, the party may also be in the mood for some sort of negotiation. The reason is simple: if no formal agreement ends the hostilities with Israel, the Israelis may take advantage of this to pursue their attacks in Lebanon and maintain a permanent state of tension on the border in order to impose a solution of their choosing.
Hezbollah made it clear again last week that it did not seek an expanded war in Lebanon. Hashem Safieddine, the head of the party’s executive council and the cousin of Hezbollah’s secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, is the one who underlined this. In other words, the assertion came from as close to the top as it could get.
Like Mr Hochstein, Hezbollah may also see negotiations as a way to avoid a conflict. Ultimately, it might choose to participate, but side step any final settlement on the border to keep its options open.
The party may have another reason for favouring negotiations. If Hezbollah can turn any of its concessions on the Israeli front into domestic gains in Lebanon, it might try to use the negotiations to secure regional and international endorsement for its favoured Lebanese presidential candidate, Suleiman Franjieh.
The weeks ahead will clarify the likelihood of war in Lebanon. But last week in Israel, the US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, expressed Washington’s thinking unambiguously. He said a “negotiated outcome” was the best way to reassure Israel’s northern residents. The Hezbollah threat “can be dealt with through diplomacy and does not require the launching of a new war,” Mr Sullivan underlined.
Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
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RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More from Neighbourhood Watch
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
WWE Super ShowDown results
Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title
Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship
Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns
Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party
Randy Orton beats Triple H
Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley
Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal
The Undertaker beat Goldberg
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
DUBAI WORLD CUP RACE CARD
6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
8.15pm Dubai Sprint Listed Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,200m
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm Well Of Wisdom
7.05pm Summrghand
7.40pm Laser Show
8.15pm Angel Alexander
8.50pm Benbatl
9.25pm Art Du Val
10pm: Beyond Reason
Racecard
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah Group Two (PA) US$55,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Meydan Trophy (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,900m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,200m
8.15pm: Balanchine Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,000m
9.25pm: Firebreak Stakes Group Three (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,600m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections: 6.30pm: RM Lam Tara, 7.05pm: Al Mukhtar Star, 7.40pm: Bochart, 8.15pm: Magic Lily, 8.50pm: Roulston Scar, 9.25pm: Quip, 10pm: Jalmoud
Race card
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
6.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,400m
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 1,200m
7.50pm: Longines Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,00 (D) 1,900m
8.25pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 2,410m
9.35pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 2,000m
8.50pm: Handicap; Dh185,000; (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; (D) 2,000m
Company%20profile
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
RESULTS
West Asia Premiership
Thursday
Jebel Ali Dragons 13-34 Dubai Exiles
Friday
Dubai Knights Eagles 16-27 Dubai Tigers
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