[News] US failed to push "Israel" into ceasefire compliance: Lebanon Dep. PM

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-failed-to-push--israel--into-ceasefire-compliance--lebano> 



  US failed to push "Israel" into ceasefire compliance: Lebanon Dep. PM

Al Mayadeen English
October 20, 2025
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lebanon rejected a proposal by "Israel" for political negotiations, with 
Nabih Berri confirming the collapse of talks after Tel Aviv rejected a 
US initiative.

  * Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes on Jarmaq, Lebanon, October
    20, 2025 (social media)
    <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/10/20/7ecc1611-e999-4bc0-b38d-851fd261e681.jpg?width=1000>
    Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes on Jarmaq, Lebanon, October
    20, 2025 (social media)

Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told *Al Mayadeen* that the 
Israeli occupation had requested, through intermediaries back in March, 
to engage in political negotiations 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/barrack-pushes-us-agenda--disarm-hezbollah--rebrand-syria-po>, 
a request which Lebanon rejected, revealing that Beirut insisted that 
any discussions remain limited to military representatives, emphasizing:

    “Lebanon insisted that the negotiations be conducted between
    military officers, and at best, joined by civilian advisers.”

He added that talks at the political level were never considered by 
Lebanon, saying:

    “Negotiations at the political level were never on the table for us,
    and perhaps that annoyed the Israelis, who continued with their
    arrogance of power.”

In an interview with *Al Mayadeen*, Mitri revealed that the United 
States had offered what it described as a mediation initiative, which 
Beirut initially understood would involve Washington pressuring “Israel” 
to abide by previously signed agreements, a commitment that never 
materialized.

Mitri stated that the proposal presented by the US envoy, and accepted 
by Lebanon, was ultimately rejected by the Israeli side. He noted that 
“Israel” has continued its daily violations of the cessation of 
hostilities agreed upon on November 27 of last year, disregarding the 
terms of the arrangement.

Speaking on the ongoing al-Naqoura negotiations, Mitri explained that 
talks remain “stuck in a loop,” as “Israel neither complies nor shows 
any genuine intention to comply” through these discussions.

To break the deadlock, he said, a new idea is being considered, that of 
indirect negotiations aimed at compelling “Israel” to fulfill the 
commitments it made last year before moving on to the issue of borders.

Mitri stressed that such talks do not imply any move toward a 
normalization treaty:

    “I don’t believe anyone thinks Lebanon is ready, or has been asked,
    to sign a peace agreement with ‘Israel’,” he said.

He clarified that the goal of indirect negotiations is to ensure 
implementation of existing agreements, not to reopen them for debate.

Mitri also pointed to the 1949 Armistice Agreement, repeatedly 
referenced in UN Resolution 1701, as “a framework and horizon for a 
potential solution.” However, he added that Lebanon remains open to 
ideas that could “give the armistice a more enduring character.”

Addressing semantic confusion in international discussions, Mitri 
underscored that terms like cessation of hostilities, ceasefire, 
armistice, and end of war are often conflated, though each represents “a 
distinct level in how armed conflicts are managed.”


    Berri: Lebanon-Israeli talks collapse after Tel Aviv rejects US plan

In the same context, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri revealed in a press 
interview that the negotiation track between Lebanon and "Israel" 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah--allies-will-reject-direct-talks-with--israel---mp> 
has collapsed after Tel Aviv rejected the American initiative proposed 
by envoy Thomas Barrack.

Berri pointed out that Barrack had officially informed Lebanon that 
"Israel" had rejected the initiative, clarifying that the only remaining 
path is the "mechanism," which is the ceasefire supervision committee 
that ended the recent war in November 2024.

The parliament speaker added that "Israel" had rejected a proposal 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah-arms-main-obstacle-to-lebanon-normalization--israe> 
to establish a negotiating process that would begin with a two-month 
halt to Israeli military operations and ultimately lead to a full 
Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory, followed by a 
formal border demarcation and security talks, a rejection which brought 
all potential negotiations to a halt.

Berri reaffirmed Lebanon's commitment to the ceasefire 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--launches-two-waves-of-brutal-strikes-on-east--south> 
agreement, refusing to label himself as either pessimistic or optimistic 
and instead coining the term "optimessimistic" to describe his mixed 
outlook.


    'Israel' pursues aggression against Lebanon

"Israel" has adopted an aggressive stance 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ohchr-slams--israel-s--near-daily-ceasefire-violations-in-le> 
against Lebanon since the ceasefire reached in November of 2024, 
launching near-daily aggressions, airstrikes, and surveillance missions 
across Lebanese lands.

One Lebanese civilian was killed 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-drone-attack-kills-lebanese-in-deir-kifa--south-leba> 
on October 18 in the southern town of Deir Kifa after an Israeli drone 
fired three missiles at a bulldozer, according to a report by *Al 
Mayadeen*'s correspondent citing the Ministry of Public Health's 
Emergency Operations Center.

On October 16, Israeli occupation forceslaunched a series of violent 
airstrikes against Lebanon 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--launches-two-waves-of-brutal-strikes-on-east--south>, 
marking a serious escalation and a continued violation of the ceasefire 
declaration that has been in place since November 27, 2024.

In the first wave, the Israeli occupation launched a drone strike 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hamas-offers-gratitude-to-mediators--allies-for-gaza-ceasefi> 
on the al-Dabsheh hill on the outskirts of the town of Kfar Tibnit, 
followed by another drone strike on the Kawthariya al-Siyyed-al-Sharqiya 
main road.

The IOF also targeted the Bnaafoul village in the Saida District with 
two airstrikes.

In the same wave, Israeli occupation warplanes targeted the town of 
Shmestar in the Bekaa, east Lebanon, killing one citizen.

A few hours later, the Israeli occupation thencarried out a second wave 
of airstrikes 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/lebanese-army-chief--israeli-aggression-threatens-lebanon-s>targeting 
the outskirts of the town of Ansar in South Lebanon, which many 
described as one of the most violent since the ceasefire.

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