Middle East latest: Israel insists on right to act against Hezbollah in any deal to end fighting

Israel’s defense minister says his country insists on the right to act militarily against Hezbollah in any agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon. Lebanon’s government is likely to view any such demand as an infringement on its sovereignty, complicating efforts to end more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that erupted into all-out war in September. U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein said Tuesday an agreement to end the Israel-Hezbollah war is “within our grasp” after meeting with officials in Lebanon. Lebanese officials mediating between Israel and Hezbollah have called for a return to a United Nations resolution that ended the 2006 war between the sides.