Middle East latest: EU urges Israel to accept ceasefire deal with Hezbollah

The European Union’s top diplomat said Tuesday there were “no excuses” for Israel to refuse to implement a ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying all its security concerns had been addressed in the U.S.-French-brokered deal.

Josep Borrell, the outgoing EU foreign policy chief, called for increased pressure on Israel to blunt extremists in the government who are refusing to accept the deal. Speaking on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting in Italy, Borrell warned that if a ceasefire is not implemented, “Lebanon will fall apart.”

Israeli officials said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet was set to convene Tuesday to discuss a proposed ceasefire. Among the issues that remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal.

Borrell said the U.S. would chair a ceasefire implementation committee, but France would participate at the request of Lebanon.

“On the proposal agreement brokered by the U.S. and France, Israel has all security concerns (addressed),” Borrell told reporters in Fiuggi, Italy. “There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart.”

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel, setting off more than a year of fighting. That escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon and an Israeli ground invasion of the country’s south. Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets into Israeli military bases, cities and towns, including some 250 projectiles on Sunday.

In the Gaza Strip, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the 13-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

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FIUGGI, Italy — EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded.

“The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.”

It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister.

Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions.

Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.”

Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said.

Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded.

“The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.”

It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister.

Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions.

Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.”

Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. (edited)