U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized France's call for a ceasefire, suggesting Paris may be receiving its intelligence from Hezbollah. He stated that a ceasefire will only happen when Hezbollah ceases its attacks — echoing his earlier remarks from Friday morning.
Ambassador Huckabee's latest broadside, posted Friday afternoon at 13:08 Jerusalem time, follows his earlier statement at 12:20 in which he responded to the French foreign minister's appeal for Israel to halt strikes on Hezbollah. In the new post he sharpened the charge, questioning whether France gets 'all its info from Hezbollah' and insisting that a 'ceasefire happens when Hezbollah stops shooting and killing.'
The remarks are the latest in a series of U.S. diplomatic signals on the northern front. As The Zioneer reported earlier Friday, Huckabee had already noted that four Israeli soldiers were killed overnight and argued that the burden to stop firing rests on Hezbollah. His tone reflects the administration's broader resistance to international calls for restraint that do not also address Hezbollah's ongoing attacks.
The ambassador did not cite a specific French statement or provide additional detail on the diplomatic context. The claim on France's sourcing is his own characterization and has not been independently confirmed.
3 developments
- DevelopingUS ambassador to Lebanon says IDF strikes on Beirut will continue if Hezbollah attacks persist
- DevelopingUS Ambassador to Israel backs Israeli retaliatory fire against Hezbollah
- DevelopingUS Official: Hezbollah Offered Ceasefire for Halt to Beirut Strikes
- DevelopingUS Ambassador Huckabee: Iran demands Israel end border defense, proposes deporting Hezbollah and Hamas to Iran
Source and signal
- Internal intake