Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, known as one of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s closest advisers, met recently with US President-elect Donald Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. During the meeting, Dermer conveyed Israel’s push to accelerate a ceasefire arrangement in Lebanon, according to The Washington Post, which referenced three Israeli officials, both current and former, familiar with the discussions.

These officials indicated that Israel’s intent in moving forward with the ceasefire plan is to offer an early foreign policy achievement for the incoming president.

Dermer chose Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as his first stop on his US visit, arriving on Sunday before heading to the White House to provide updates to members of the Biden administration on the progress of Lebanon-related 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 told The Washington Post.

Dermer’s spokesperson informed The Post that the minister’s discussions covered a wide array of topics, although specific details were not provided.

Neither Netanyahu’s office nor a representative for Trump offered comments, and Kushner’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for information.

Sunday’s discussions at Trump’s Florida estate were centered on an Israeli ceasefire plan for Lebanon, which would involve collaboration between Western nations and Russia, an Israeli official disclosed to The Post. Another Israeli military source mentioned that if the ceasefire talks failed, plans were being made to escalate ground operations in Lebanon.

Israeli officials outlined that, under the terms of the proposed deal, Hezbollah would need to withdraw north of the Litani River.

A Hezbollah associate shared that the group would be open to moving its forces north of the Litani as part of a temporary truce. According to an Israeli official, the Lebanese military would assume control of the border region for an initial period of 60 days, with oversight from the United States and Britain.

The proposal includes provisions allowing the IDF to operate across the border if any breaches occur.

While the outline of the deal bears similarities to previous negotiations, Israeli and Lebanese officials confirmed that the proposal has not yet been formally presented to Hezbollah.

The Hezbollah insider stated that the group’s “condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory.”

After his discussions at Mar-a-Lago, Dermer continued his meetings on Monday and Tuesday in Washington with members of the Biden administration, including Amos Hochstein, the US president’s special envoy to Lebanon, as noted by a senior American official to The Post.

This official emphasized that Netanyahu remains in close contact with the US administration on the Lebanese ceasefire initiative. A second US official pointed out that efforts toward a potential agreement remain under Biden’s team, with noticeable progress being made.

{Matzav.com}