JERUSALEM, Israel – After 11 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a number of nations, including the U.S. called for a 21-day ceasefire with Hezbollah and in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was flying to the U.S., flatly rejected the ceasefire plan, saying Israel will continue to fight.
President Joe Biden told reporters about the ceasefire proposal. “We were able to generate significant support from Europe as well as the Arab nations. It’s important the war does not widen,” Biden stated.
The statement by the U.S., France, and several other nations, calls for the implementation of United Nations Resolution 1701. The resolution, crafted to end the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, called for the end of hostilities and the removal of all forces except for the Lebanese Army and U.N. peacekeepers.
The U.N. failed to enforce the resolution, allowing Hezbollah to dramatically re-arm in the past 18 years. The new statement signed by the U.S. makes no mention of Hezbollah.
By midday Thursday, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office strongly denied that a ceasefire was imminent, saying in a statement, “The report about a ceasefire is incorrect. This is an American-French proposal that the prime minister has not even responded to.”
The statement added,
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