French Foreign Minister seeks to stop Hezbollah-Israel conflict

(Patria) - French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné arrived in Lebanon yesterday as part of an effort to mediate de-escalation of the conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border, AP reported.

Séjourné met with United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon and with the Speaker of Parliament, the Army Chief of Staff, the Foreign Minister, and the interim Prime Minister of Lebanon.

France "refuses to accept the worst-case scenario" of a war in Lebanon, Séjourné said.

"In southern Lebanon, war is already here, even if it is not called by that name, and the civilian population is paying the price".

Hezbollah has been exchanging near-daily fire with Israeli forces in the border area, and sometimes further afield, for nearly seven months against the backdrop of Israel's war in Gaza with Hamas.

A French diplomatic official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the purpose of Séjourné's visit was to convey "France's fears of a war in Lebanon" and to submit an amendment to a proposal that Paris had previously put forward for a diplomatic solution to the border conflict. Western diplomats have put forward a series of proposals to end the conflict. Most would depend on Hezbollah moving its forces a few kilometers from the border, an increased presence of the Lebanese army, and negotiations for Israeli forces to withdraw from disputed points along the border, as Beirut says Israel has occupied small parts of Lebanon since withdrawing from the rest of southern Lebanon in 2000.

The ultimate goal is the full implementation of the UN resolution that ended the brutal month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

Paris's previous proposal included Hezbollah withdrawing ten kilometers from the border. Hezbollah has signaled a willingness to accept proposals but said there would be no deal in Lebanon before a ceasefire in Gaza. Israeli officials have said a ceasefire in Gaza would not automatically mean they would stop their attacks in Lebanon, even if Hezbollah did.

Séjourné declined to give more details about the latest version of the proposal ahead of a trip to Israel on Tuesday. He said he would have "consultations" with Israeli authorities to move towards an agreement.

The French Foreign Minister also called for Lebanese political factions to reach an agreement on a candidate to fill the presidential vacuum that has lasted for a year and a half. Séjourné said Lebanon needs a president in order to be "invited to the negotiating table" and to be able to implement any agreement that might be reached on the border issue.

During the talks, Lebanese officials raised the issue of the permanent presence of more than a million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Lebanese officials are increasingly calling on Western countries to facilitate their return to Syria.

Séjourné acknowledged the burden that Lebanon has imposed by hosting such a large number of refugees and said that "all stakeholders must work to make this return possible in a voluntary, dignified, and safe manner in accordance with international law."