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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">US failed to push "Israel" into
ceasefire compliance: Lebanon Dep. PM</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen
English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">October 20, 2025</div>
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<p>Lebanon rejected a proposal by "Israel" for political
negotiations, with Nabih Berri confirming the collapse
of talks after Tel Aviv rejected a US initiative.</p>
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Smoke rises following Israeli airstrikes on
Jarmaq, Lebanon, October 20, 2025 (social media)
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<p>Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told <strong>Al
Mayadeen</strong> that the Israeli occupation had
requested, through intermediaries back in March, <a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/barrack-pushes-us-agenda--disarm-hezbollah--rebrand-syria-po"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">to engage in political
negotiations</a>, a request which Lebanon rejected,
revealing that Beirut insisted that any discussions
remain limited to military representatives,
emphasizing:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>\u201cLebanon insisted that the negotiations be
conducted between military officers, and at best,
joined by civilian advisers.\u201d</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He added that talks at the political level were never
considered by Lebanon, saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>\u201cNegotiations at the political level were never on
the table for us, and perhaps that annoyed the
Israelis, who continued with their arrogance of
power.\u201d</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In an interview with <strong>Al Mayadeen</strong>,
Mitri revealed that the United States had offered what
it described as a mediation initiative, which Beirut
initially understood would involve Washington
pressuring \u201cIsrael\u201d to abide by previously signed
agreements, a commitment that never materialized.</p>
<p>Mitri stated that the proposal presented by the US
envoy, and accepted by Lebanon, was ultimately
rejected by the Israeli side. He noted that \u201cIsrael\u201d
has continued its daily violations of the cessation of
hostilities agreed upon on November 27 of last year,
disregarding the terms of the arrangement.</p>
<p>Speaking on the ongoing al-Naqoura negotiations,
Mitri explained that talks remain \u201cstuck in a loop,\u201d
as \u201cIsrael neither complies nor shows any genuine
intention to comply\u201d through these discussions.</p>
<p>To break the deadlock, he said, a new idea is being
considered, that of indirect negotiations aimed at
compelling \u201cIsrael\u201d to fulfill the commitments it made
last year before moving on to the issue of borders.</p>
<p>Mitri stressed that such talks do not imply any move
toward a normalization treaty:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>\u201cI don\u2019t believe anyone thinks Lebanon is ready, or
has been asked, to sign a peace agreement with
\u2018Israel\u2019,\u201d he said.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He clarified that the goal of indirect negotiations
is to ensure implementation of existing agreements,
not to reopen them for debate.</p>
<p>Mitri also pointed to the 1949 Armistice Agreement,
repeatedly referenced in UN Resolution 1701, as \u201ca
framework and horizon for a potential solution.\u201d
However, he added that Lebanon remains open to ideas
that could \u201cgive the armistice a more enduring
character.\u201d</p>
<p>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
\u201ca distinct level in how armed conflicts are managed.\u201d</p>
<h2>Berri: Lebanon-Israeli talks collapse after Tel Aviv
rejects US plan</h2>
<p>In the same context, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri
revealed in a press interview that the <a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah--allies-will-reject-direct-talks-with--israel---mp"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">negotiation track between
Lebanon and "Israel"</a> has collapsed after Tel
Aviv rejected the American initiative proposed by
envoy Thomas Barrack.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The parliament speaker <a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah-arms-main-obstacle-to-lebanon-normalization--israe"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">added that "Israel" had
rejected a proposal</a> 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.</p>
<p>Berri reaffirmed <a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--launches-two-waves-of-brutal-strikes-on-east--south"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">Lebanon's commitment to the
ceasefire</a> agreement, refusing to label himself
as either pessimistic or optimistic and instead
coining the term "optimessimistic" to describe his
mixed outlook.</p>
<h2>'Israel' pursues aggression against Lebanon</h2>
<p><a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ohchr-slams--israel-s--near-daily-ceasefire-violations-in-le"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">"Israel" has adopted an
aggressive stance</a> against Lebanon since the
ceasefire reached in November of 2024, launching
near-daily aggressions, airstrikes, and surveillance
missions across Lebanese lands. </p>
<p><a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-drone-attack-kills-lebanese-in-deir-kifa--south-leba"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">One Lebanese civilian was
killed</a> 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 <strong>Al
Mayadeen</strong>'s correspondent citing the
Ministry of Public Health's Emergency Operations
Center.</p>
<p>On October 16, Israeli occupation forces<span> </span><a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel--launches-two-waves-of-brutal-strikes-on-east--south"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">launched a series of violent
airstrikes against Lebanon</a>, marking a serious
escalation and a continued violation of the ceasefire
declaration that has been in place since November 27,
2024.</p>
<p>In the first wave, the <a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hamas-offers-gratitude-to-mediators--allies-for-gaza-ceasefi"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">Israeli occupation launched a
drone strike</a> 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.</p>
<p>The IOF also targeted the Bnaafoul village in the
Saida District with two airstrikes.</p>
<p>In the same wave, Israeli occupation warplanes
targeted the town of Shmestar in the Bekaa, east
Lebanon, killing one citizen.</p>
<p>A few hours later, the Israeli occupation then<span> </span><a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/lebanese-army-chief--israeli-aggression-threatens-lebanon-s"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
moz-do-not-send="true">carried out a second wave of
airstrikes</a><span> </span>targeting the outskirts
of the town of Ansar in South Lebanon, which many
described as one of the most violent since the
ceasefire. </p>
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