Israel seeks rapid Lebanon ceasefire as a 'gift' to Donald Trump

Israel is planning to secure a rapid ceasefire in Lebanon as a 'gift' to incoming US President Donald Trump, according to government officials.

It is understood that Strategic Affairs Minister in Jerusalem Ron Dermer has told Mr Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner that Israel is rushing to establish plans to halt its conflict with Hezbollah.

The peace plan would be a special present to the incoming president who has vowed to halt the wars in the Middle East and that between Russia and Ukraine.

But it is believed any such ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza may take longer.

And Israel still carried out fresh air strikes on Beirut yesterday.

However, a deal to halt the ongoing attacks against Lebanon would nevertheless be seen as a coup for Mr Trump.

Mr Dermer, who is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's confidant, told the US President-elect and his Mr Kushner of the ceasefire bid this week, according to three current and former Israeli officials who were briefed on the meeting.

According to the officials, the goal of the move would be to deliver an early foreign policy win for the president-elect.

Mr Dermer made Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate the first stop on his US tour earlier this week before travelling on to the White House to update Joe Biden administration officials on the state of Lebanon talks.

"There is an understanding that Israel would gift something to Trump ... that in January there will be an understanding about Lebanon," an Israeli official said.

Mr Dermer's spokesman confirmed that he discussed a wide range of issues during his trip but declined to elaborate.

Mr Netanyahu's office and a spokesperson for Mr Trump also declined to comment.

But it is understood that the conversations at Mr Trump's Florida residence focused on an Israeli ceasefire proposal for Lebanon involving Western and Russian cooperation.

However, an Israeli military official said plans were also being created to ramp up ground operations in Lebanon if talks were to ultimately fall apart.

The terms of the evolving peace deal, according to Israeli officials, would require Hezbollah to retreat beyond the key Litani River.

A person close to Hezbollah said the group would be willing to withdraw north of the Litani as part of a temporary ceasefire.

The Israeli official said the Lebanese military would take control of the border zone for an initial 60-day period, overseen by the United States and Britain.

The proposal also calls for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to be able to operate across the border in case of violations.

The Hezbollah source said the group's "condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory."

Following his meetings in Mar-a-Lago, Mr Dermer met with Mr Biden's officials in Washington, including Amos Hochstein, the president's special envoy to Lebanon.

Sources in Jerusalem say Mr Netanyahu remains engaged with the administration on the ceasefire process in Lebanon.
But who in the US will be credited with brokering the deal remains to be seen.

And a second US official said that all the work on a potential deal was still being done by Mr Biden's team and that progress had been made.