Report: Hochstein to chair 'important' ceasefire panel meeting
An “important” meeting of the ceasefire monitoring committee will be held on Monday in Naqoura, al-Joumhouria newspaper quoted sources as saying on Friday.
“This time it will be chaired by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, which will give a bigger impetus to the committee’s work,” the sources added.
Hochstein is the civilian co-chair of “the cessation of hostilities implementation and monitoring mechanism” while U.S. general Jasper Jeffers is its military co-chair.
Jeffers of the U.S. Special Operations Command Central had arrived in Beirut on November 27.
The cessation of hostilities implementation and monitoring mechanism is chaired by the United States and consist of the Lebanese Army, the Israeli army, the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and France.
Hochstein will serve as the civilian co-chair until a permanent civilian official is named.
This group is assisting in the monitoring and implementation of the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon that went into effect on Nov. 26.
The truce has been marked by mutual accusations of violations from both sides.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese Army is to deploy alongside U.N. peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdraws over a 60-day period.
Hezbollah is to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River -- some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border -- and dismantle its military infrastructure in the south.
In late December, the U.N. peacekeeping force expressed concern at the "continuing" damage done by Israeli forces in south Lebanon.
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