BEIRUT, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a Lebanese roadmap for a ceasefire, Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported, citing Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
"The Israeli prime minister rejected the Lebanese ceasefire roadmap that we agreed upon with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein," Berri was quoted as saying, considering that the political movement to resolve the crisis has been postponed until after the U.S. elections scheduled for Nov. 5.
"Israel's rejection leaves matters in Lebanon subject to developments on the ground," he said.
In a meeting with Chief of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, Berri also stressed that "Israel has squandered more than one real opportunity to cease fire, to implement UN Resolution 1701, and to return calm and displaced persons on both sides of the border."
According to a statement issued by his media office, Berri briefed the UNIFIL chief on the understanding reached with the U.S. envoy as part of his efforts toward a ceasefire.
The Israel-Hezbollah conflict, part of the broader Gaza-centered Israel-Hamas war, has intensified since Sept. 23 with increasing Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon and persistent exchanges of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border. ■
