Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire unlikely to last long, expert says
The US-France-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah is unlikely to last long as the underlying sources of the conflict remain, claims Armen Petrosyan, an Armenian expert on Arabic studies.
"Both the timing and impact of the ceasefire are determined by the global and regional developments. As long as the uncertainty prevails – the biggest conflict in the region between Israel and Iran remains basically unresolved – it’d be inappropriate to consider the ceasefire in the area as durable,” he told Panorama.am in an interview on Thursday.
The expert stated that the ceasefire deal was aimed at resolving a local conflict and would not have a long-lasting impact on the Middle East.
He claimed the ceasefire was achieved through “huge political and diplomatic efforts” by the US and France and was in line with the Israeli ruling regime’s interests.
“Israel believes that at this point it has largely carried out its task in Lebanon and further expansion of hostilities would lead to a direct war with Lebanon, going beyond the Israel-Hezbollah confrontation,” he opined.
“In addition, the Israeli authorities do not want to start negotiations with the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in unfavorable conditions and under pressure,” Petrosyan added.