PM weighing proposal drafted by Dermer for ending conflict with Hezbollah — report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding a high-level security consultation this evening on whether to advance terms for ending the conflict with Hezbollah or to expand the ongoing ground operation in southern Lebanon, Channel 12 reports.

The report says that a team headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer has drawn up proposed terms under which to end the conflict, and is recommending that Israel should try to do so, capitalizing on its military achievements against Hezbollah in recent weeks.

Along with Netanyahu and Dermer, the other participants in tonight’s meeting are reportedly Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar. The TV report says Halevi strongly recommends seeking a negotiated end to the fighting, and that there is a belief that it is currently possible to advance to a deal in Lebanon in a process separate from the ongoing conflict with Gaza.

The report says that the Dermer team’s recommendations, which were drawn up with input from the security establishment and the Foreign Ministry, include:

• An improved version of UN Resolution 1701 (under which the 2006 Lebanon War was brought to an end), requiring Hezbollah fighters to withdraw north of the Litani River
• Heavy deployment of the Lebanese Army at the border
• An international oversight and enforcement mechanism of the agreed terms
• Guaranteed freedom of operation for the IDF if there are “threats that need to be removed”
• The prevention of Hezbollah rearming in the future
• A 60-day ceasefire during which the agreement would be finalized

The report says it is not clear whether Netanyahu will choose to adopt the proposal from Dermer, one of the prime minister’s most trusted loyalists. Netanyahu reportedly held a prior consultation with several ministers, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, during which Gallant was not present.

If Netanyahu does decide to advance the proposal, this would have implications for Iran and Gaza, the report says without elaboration, and it is likely that the US point man on Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, would return to the region very soon — ahead of the US election next week.