Mossad chief pushing to link any Lebanon ceasefire deal with hostage release (report)
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00:00It's an interesting question and we don't hear an answer from the politicians but we are beginning
00:04to hear from security officials speaking off the record when they're discussing the possibility of
00:10a ceasefire and they say a ceasefire at this stage is not in Israel's interests because they think
00:15that Israel is powering ahead militarily and they say they won't agree to a ceasefire until unless
00:23Hezbollah pulls back behind the Litani River, that was the old requirement that wasn't enforced
00:30after the 2006 war and also that it dismantles all its military equipment and strongholds that
00:37it has in South Lebanon on the Israeli border. I guess what Israel is saying if Hezbollah won't
00:42do that that's what its military operation is aiming to do and they've provided some video of
00:48for example a tunnel that went from South Lebanon under the border under Israel so 25 meters in
00:55Lebanon 10 meters under Israeli territory so that's what we are hearing as an option.
01:02Interestingly there was always what Hezbollah wanted which was a link back to Gaza and now
01:09we're seeing something else which is Hezbollah more or less saying okay we might consider some
01:13sort of ceasefire deal not linked to Gaza and Israel or sources within Israel especially the
01:22Mossad saying actually it would be better if we did a total deal that if we end the war in Lebanon
01:28there's also some kind of mechanism for the release of hostages and the end of the war in Gaza.
01:33Can the Mossad sell that to the Israeli government? I don't know but it's very interesting
01:38that you hear all the positions being reversed and that you hear that this is what's coming out
01:42of the diplomatic track. There is a phone call today between Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin
01:47Netanyahu and the US President Joe Biden much touted first time they've spoken since August
01:52is what I'm hearing you of course will confirm or deny that. Can you shine any further light on what
01:57they've been speaking about? It is I mean most significant about this conversation is that it
02:03was had at all frankly because as you say weeks and weeks of no conversation and then the
02:10Defence Minister Yoav Garlant was meant to be on his way to Washington at a meeting that
02:16Washington demanded actually because he's their point man if you like in this government
02:21and then he was grounded that word used by the Israeli media which is something that we usually
02:26use for parents grounding teenagers anyhow he was grounded by the Israeli Prime Minister didn't
02:33fly last night and one of the conditions that Benjamin Netanyahu put was that he would speak
02:40with the President with Joe Biden first so he did speak with the President with Joe Biden and with
02:45Kamala Harris the Democratic nominee as we know and what was on the table is what Washington
02:51always wants to know from Israel what is your end game in Lebanon what are your plans for Iran and
02:57that's super relevant to Washington because whatever Israel's plans for Iran are Israel
03:03can't carry them out alone it needs American support and Washington wants details that's
03:07why they wanted Yoav Garlant the Defence Minister in Washington yesterday actually today now
03:16and they didn't get that so this was a preliminary conversation and if you believe Bob Woodward
03:22you know his book wasn't just about Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump it was also about the
03:28U.S. President and the Israeli Prime Minister and the U.S. President was using some very direct
03:34language making demands of the of Israel's Prime Minister of Benjamin Netanyahu and showing great
03:42dissatisfaction with him so I don't know how they weathered that as well if Bob Woodward is right.
03:48Iris Mackler as always thank you for joining us and giving us that insight that we value so much
03:52from the region thank you Iris Mackler our correspondent in Jerusalem.