![Israel must continue to be able to deter Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stressed on Wednesday, speaking amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Iran's Lebanese terrorist proxy. "We need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations. And we will have to act in time, before the problem will grow," the minister told a gathering of nearly 100 foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reported. A deal to end more than a year of fighting on the northern border must be durable, Sa'ar said, saying Jerusalem “would like to reach an agreement that will stand the test of time." He added that a ceasefire would be an "opportunity" for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty after the Israeli military severely degraded the Iranian-backed group in recent months. He called for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be strengthened and urged the international community to invest more in the economically devastated country, which is drowning in debt following years of mismanagement and corruption. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also emphasized on Wednesday the necessity for Jerusalem to be able to act against any Hezbollah threats that may arise after a ceasefire deal is implemented. “The condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the [IDF’s] right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah,” Katz said. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein remained in Beirut for a second day on Wednesday to discuss "technical details" of an American ceasefire proposal with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement. President Joe Biden's point man in the Land of the Cedars announced he would travel to Israel on Wednesday night, speaking after he made "additional progress" in a second meeting with Berri. Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer shortly after his arrival, followed by a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day. “The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said. “So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can.” The Biden envoy added that he will work with the incoming Trump administration on ceasefire efforts, saying that he has kept the president-elect's transition team informed of progress. Hochstein described as "very productive" his meetings with Lebanese officials on Tuesday. “We have a real opportunity to end the conflict, and now is the moment to decide. We are committed to doing everything we can to work with Lebanon and Israel to end this conflict,” Hochstein said at a press conference on Tuesday. Hochstein also met on Tuesday with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and he was scheduled to meet with Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. Mikati emphasized that Lebanon’s primary objectives are achieving a ceasefire and safeguarding its sovereignty. He highlighted the need to implement international resolutions and bolster the Lebanese Armed Forces in the southern part of the country. Lebanon delivered its written response to the latest U.S. proposal on Monday. According to Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, the response included “comments” that were “presented in a positive atmosphere.” He did not provide details on the nature of the comments, saying only that they “affirm the precise adherence to [U.N. Security Council] Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” according to Reuters. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a speech on Wednesday that the terrorist group had "read the ceasefire proposal. "We have our comments, and Nabih Berri has comments, and ours and the Lebanese government's comments are, Inshallah ['God willing'], identical," Qassem said. "We have decided not to discuss these ceasefire proposals or our comments in the media. All I will say is that Israeli is trying to obtain through negotiations what it couldn't through war." The terrorist leader vowed to “continue our efforts on the ground, whether the negotiations succeed or not. “We are confronting a savage enemy, and we will remain on the ground, no matter the cost, as we will also increase the cost for the enemy. We are facing Israeli human monsters supported by American human monsters,” threatened Qassem. Disarm and retreat Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, stipulated that Hezbollah must disarm and retreat north of the Litani River, but was never enforced. The Litani lies some 20 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. Its enforcement, along with Israeli freedom of operation in Lebanon should Hezbollah violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement, are the key sticking points in the current negotiations. Netanyahu emphasized during a speech in the Knesset plenum on Monday that Israel will not allow Hezbollah to “return to the state it was in on Oct. 6, 2023. “We will be required, in order to ensure our security in the north, to systematically carry out operations—not only against Hezbollah’s attacks, which could come. Even if there is a ceasefire, nobody can guarantee it will hold. So it’s not only our reaction, a preventive reaction, a reaction in the wake of attack but also the capacity to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening,” he said. Hezbollah has launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones from Lebanon at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Gaza-based terrorist group’s massacre in southern Israel. More than 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain internally displaced due to the ongoing rocket and drone attacks from Lebanon. Seventy-six people in northern Israel have been killed by Hezbollah cross-border rocket, missile and drone attacks since the start of the war, including 31 soldiers and six foreign citizens, according to the latest data provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, updated on Sunday. In addition, 729 people have been wounded, including 497 civilians and 232 soldiers. Of these, 29 civilians and 37 soldiers were severely injured; 63 civilians and 38 soldiers were moderately injured and 405 civilians and 157 soldiers were lightly injured. Hezbollah’s leadership has been left in tatters following a series of targeted killings by Israel, including that of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sept. 27. This was preceded by Israeli sabotage of Hezbollah communication devices that killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400 members of the terrorist group. Israel has been waging a devastating aerial campaign against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, including its stronghold of Dahieh south of Beirut. According to Israeli estimates, the terrorist group has lost most of its arsenal to the ongoing strikes. Then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in late October that Hezbollah had lost an estimated 80%-plus of its long-range rockets since the start of the war. Israel also continues to battle Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The terrorist group still holds 101 hostages in the Strip, 97 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Many of the captives are believed to be dead. Brazil summit Meanwhile, G20 leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a summit put out a joint statement on Monday calling for “comprehensive” ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. The leaders of the world’s biggest economies called for U.S. proposals to end fighting in Gaza and free the hostages, and one for Lebanon “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.” The 13-point U.S. proposal presented to Lebanese officials on Nov. 14 includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would redeploy its troops along the border. The proposal also calls for Moscow to prevent Hezbollah from resupplying itself via Syrian land routes. Hezbollah would retreat north of the Litani River, with the border area then being under control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, overseen by the United States and Britain. Israeli officials are emphasizing, however, that the Israel Defense Forces must retain freedom of operation in Lebanon to thwart attempts by Hezbollah to violate the agreement and rearm and reestablish itself. A senior Israeli diplomatic official told Israel Hayom on Saturday that the IDF will retain operational freedom to respond to any security threats from across the northern border, regardless of any diplomatic arrangements. However, a source close to Hezbollah told The Washington Post that the group’s “condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory.” Berri emphasized at the time that any ceasefire agreement must not include the ability for Israel to attack by land, sea or air, Channel 12 reported. “Otherwise, what’s the purpose of an agreement?” he remarked. Another sticking point is Lebanon’s objection to the United Kingdom and Germany monitoring the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701. Beirut reportedly favors the United States and France. If the ceasefire efforts fail, there are plans in the works to expand ground operations in Lebanon, an Israeli military official told the Post. Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed the proposal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a visit to his Florida estate earlier this month, as well as with senior Biden administration officials in Washington. Dermer also traveled to Russia to discuss the ceasefire proposal. Tehran is telling its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah that it supports ending the war against Israel, The New York Times reported over the weekend. Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut on Nov. 15 to discuss the matter. Two Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps told the Times that Larijani conveyed messages to Hezbollah from Khamenei that he supported the end of the war and that the regime would assist with rebuilding the terrorist group’s forces and recovering from the war.](https://jewishwebsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gideon-Saar-1320x880-2-218x150.jpg "Sa’ar: Israel must be free to act against Hezbollah truce violations")
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed the “minibus” spending package that combines six appropriations bills, with billions in funding for Israel and other projects supported by U.S. Jewish groups.
The $1.2 trillion package, which passed 286-134 on Friday, funds the U.S. Departments of Defense, State and Homeland Security. The vote split the Republican caucus in half, garnering further opposition from progressive Democrats. It needed a two-thirds majority of 280 votes to pass.
The bill, which heads to the U.S. Senate next, includes several pro-Israel measures, including $3.3 billion in foreign military financing to the Jewish state; $500 million for U.S.-Israel missile-defense cooperation; and $87.5 million in U.S.-Israel counter-drone and anti-tunneling cooperation.
The bill forbids U.S. funding to the U.N.’s Palestinian aid agency UNRWA in the wake of Israeli allegations that agency staffers participated in the Oct. 7 attacks and that a substantial percentage of UNRWA employees are members of Hamas.
Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.) called the legislation “the most pro-Israel State and Foreign Operations bill that we have ever seen.”
“One of our most important allies is in its time of greatest need,” Diaz-Balart said. “This bill answers the call.”
“The passage of this bill prohibits funds for the antisemitic U.N. Commission of Inquiry against Israel,” he added. “The passage of this bill means no funds can be used to de-list the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization or to implement that infamous nuclear agreement with Iran.”
Opposition
Many of the 22 progressive Democrats who voted against the bill are frequent critics of Israel who cited restrictions on UNRWA funding in the lead-up to the vote.
“That’s some b***s*** if we are not funding UNRWA,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) told The Hill on Thursday.
“UNRWA is the long-standing organization working on the ground in Gaza, providing humanitarian aid, and we have a humanitarian crisis right now where babies and children are starving to death,” he said. “It’s evil. It’s unacceptable. We gotta fund UNRWA for sure.”
Republican opponents of the package said on the House floor on Friday that the bill did not do enough to secure the U.S. southern border. They also highlighted spending provisions that they believe to be frivolous, including a $1 million grant to the Illinois chapter of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, whose founding executive director has described the war against Hamas in Gaza as a “U.S.-funded genocide.”
The Republican divisions could complicate Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) control of the narrow and fractious Republican majority.
During the vote, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a motion to vacate the speakership, a maneuver that ousted Johnson’s predecessor Kevin McCarthy.
“I do not wish to inflict pain on our conference and to throw the House into chaos, but this is basically a warning, and it’s time for us to go through the process, take our time and find a new speaker of the House that will stand with Republicans,” she told reporters on the Capitol steps.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) announced on Friday that he will leave Congress on April 19 without completing his term, which will leave Johnson with a one-seat Republican majority until special elections can be held to replace other outgoing Republican-held seats.
As the bill moves to the Senate, the vote in that chamber could also influence the race to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as Republican leader.
“The archbishop of Canterbury shouldn’t be chosen as pope,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote ahead of the vote. “Republicans who vote for the swamp omnibus shouldn’t be chosen to lead the Senate GOP.”
Domestic provisions
Domestically, the bill reduces funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps bolster security for synagogues, day schools and other at-risk locations and is a key priority for U.S. Jewish groups.
Karen Paikin Barall, vice president of government relations at the Jewish Federations of North America, told JNS that the cut from $305 million for the program last year to $274.5 million for the fiscal year 2024 is disappointing and concerning given the spike in antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7.
“It for sure has to double,” Paikin Barall said, of the amount of money the program would need to meet demands. “This is not only about the Jewish community. This is about all nonprofits.”
“The Jewish community is one aspect of it and you need to protect it and that’s obviously what we’re interested in,” she added. “But it’s for everyone and I think that we’re seeing a need for this around the country.”
Paikin Barall said that the cuts are likely to affect smaller institutions that lack resources for additional security.
“It’s also those little places, little synagogues that have a menorah outside or have something that identifies them as a Jewish building, but they’re at the same amount of risk as other places,” she told JNS. “We’re worried about everybody, but those are the ones that tend to suffer the most.”
Hopes for expanding the security grant program now lie with the passage of the supplemental foreign aid package that has stalled in the House.
The Senate-passed version of that package includes a one-off, $400 million expenditure for the security grant program. It’s unclear whether that money would be included in a future House version.
Johnson commended the passage of the minibus in a statement, adding that the House will now focus on the supplemental aid package, in addition to strengthening ties with Israel.
“We will also take the necessary steps to address the supplemental funding request,” Johnson stated. “We have done important work discussing options with members—such as the REPO Act, loans, additional sanctions, and energy exports, among other measures—and are preparing to complete our plan for action.” (The REPO Act confiscates seized Russian assets for Ukrainian benefit.)
The House speaker also referenced recent remarks on the Senate floor from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an “obstacle” to peace, and that Israel should hold new elections.
“After Senator Schumer’s reckless remarks about Prime Minister Netanyahu, we need to restore the historic, bipartisan support for Israel, our closest ally in the Middle East,” Johnson said. “We welcome all ongoing member deliberations over the next two weeks as the House works its will on this matter.”
The House will go into recess for two weeks, as the Senate takes up the spending bill.
Senators have until midnight on Friday to avert a partial government shutdown. The effects of a shutdown would be limited over the weekend if the Senate is unable to hold an immediate vote.