A joint statement issued at the end of U.S.-Iranian talks in Switzerland on Monday said the parties had agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” to ensure adherence to the termination of hostilities in Lebanon.
Reuters – WashingtonStand.com
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon and Israel are discussing a U.S.-backed proposal for Israeli forces to pull out of some of the territory invaded in the war with Hezbollah and hand it to Lebanese army control during talks in Washington, officials on both sides said.
The proposed pilot project is being discussed in the latest round of Israeli-Lebanese talks, which are going ahead even after they appear to have been eclipsed by Iran’s move to make Lebanon central to its talks with the United States.
Israeli forces have seized a swathe of southern Lebanon during the war that was ignited when Hezbollah opened fire at Israel in a show of support for Tehran, days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
A ceasefire has largely held since Sunday, the longest lull in the fighting yet. But Israeli forces are still deployed deep inside southern Lebanon, citing the need to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attack.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel would not withdraw from southern Lebanon, even if the U.S. demanded it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will remain in Lebanon as long as necessary.
Israeli Officials Say Troops Would Be Vetted
The Israeli officials said the Lebanese troops involved in the U.S.-backed proposal would undergo U.S. training and vetting to ensure they are not linked to Hezbollah, while Israel would maintain a military presence in a buffer zone along the border.
Asked about the Israeli officials’ comments, a senior Lebanese security official said discussions were ongoing in Washington and that specific military-to-military talks, including on the pilot zones, would take place on Wednesday.
The Lebanese official said the discussions would focus on a timeline for Israeli withdrawal and that any plan would emerge only after the final day of talks on Thursday. The official did not respond to a request for comment on the Israeli officials’ account of U.S. vetting of Lebanese troops.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told a British-German delegation that discussions on the proposed “pilot areas” were ongoing and awaiting Israeli approval, the Lebanese presidency said.
Lebanon’s army, which recruits from across the country’s sectarian mosaic, has long received U.S. military aid, part of U.S. policy to bolster government security institutions in a country where critics say Hezbollah has undermined the state.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim group established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, has consistently demanded the Lebanese government withdraw from the U.S.-backed talks with Israel — Beirut’s highest-level contacts with Israel in decades.