Borrell urges pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to accept the US ceasefire proposal

BRUSSELS Nov. 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, warned this Sunday from the capital of Lebanon, Beirut, that the country is “on the verge of collapse” and has urged pressure on both Israel and the militia party. Shiite Hezbollah to accept the latest US proposal for a ceasefire.

“We are awaiting a concrete and definitive response from the Israeli Government. I hope this is possible with the participation of the United States and France,” he stressed after holding a meeting with the president of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah.

The European Union’s top diplomat has reiterated that the only way to end hostilities in the region is an “immediate” ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701.

Borrell has urged Lebanese deputies to “assume their political responsibility” and elect a president to end the power vacuum in the country. Likewise, he highlighted the role of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), while he remembered the four ‘blue helmets’ injured a few days ago.

The Lebanese Government informed Washington last Sunday that it accepted the latest US proposal for a ceasefire. The United States special envoy, Amos Hochstein, met this week with Berri, designated as negotiator by Lebanon, to try to advance the agreement.

Hochstein has been carrying out mediation tasks for weeks to try to get the parties to reach a ceasefire agreement after more than a year of fighting, intensified by Israel’s decision to begin a new land invasion of the neighboring country on October 1.