Washington: We Are Preparing for Intensive Talks Between Israel and Lebanon Next Week

SadaNews - The U.S. State Department announced that Washington will facilitate two days of intensive talks between the governments of Israel and Lebanon on May 14 and 15.

The department stated in a statement on Friday that based on the April 23 round led personally by President Donald Trump, the delegations will engage in detailed discussions aimed at moving forward with a "comprehensive peace and security agreement that fundamentally addresses the core concerns" of both parties.

"Establishing Lasting Peace"

It added that "these talks aim to decisively break with the failed approach that prevailed over the past two decades, which allowed terrorist groups to entrench themselves and enrich themselves, undermine the authority of the Lebanese state, and endanger Israel's northern borders," according to the statement.

The department also noted that "the discussions will work to build a framework for permanent peace and security arrangements, full restoration of Lebanese sovereignty over its territories, border demarcation, and creating tangible pathways for humanitarian relief and reconstruction in Lebanon."

The State Department further stated that "both sides are committed to conducting these talks with their national interests in mind, and the United States will work to reconcile those interests in a way that achieves lasting security for Israel and sovereignty and reconstruction for Lebanon."

It also emphasized that the United States welcomes "the commitment of both governments to this process and recognizes that comprehensive peace is contingent upon the full restoration of Lebanese state authority and the complete disarmament of Hezbollah, which the United States designates as a foreign terrorist organization."

In conclusion, it stressed that "these discussions represent another important step towards ending decades of conflict and establishing lasting peace" between Lebanon and Israel, affirming that Washington will continue to support both sides in their efforts to reach a breakthrough in this path.

Two Meetings in Washington

Last month, Washington hosted two meetings between the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon to the United States to push Beirut and Tel Aviv towards negotiation.

However, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam clarified that the talks are not aimed at normalizing relations with the Israeli side, but rather at consolidating the ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the south.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced its opposition to any negotiations with the Israeli side, criticizing the government.

Additionally, Trump is pushing for a meeting between Aoun and Netanyahu, but the Lebanese president said that the time is not right for such a meeting, stressing that it should be preceded by reaching a "security agreement, and ending Israeli assaults on us before we raise the issue of the meeting."

March 2

It is noteworthy that the war between Iran on one side and Israel and America on the other has extended to Lebanon, with Hezbollah launching rockets at northern Israel on March 2 in response to the assassination of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei.

Israel responded with intense airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut and villages in the south and Bekaa in the eastern part of the country.

However, since April 17, a new ceasefire agreement has been in effect that was supposed to last for 10 days, but the U.S. president announced an extension of 3 weeks following the second round of talks between the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon to the United States.

Despite this, Israel continued its strikes, which it claims target Hezbollah, in addition to bombings in the Lebanese border towns.

For its part, Hezbollah has launched attacks on Israeli forces occupying parts of the south, and sent drones towards Israeli settlements.