Representations from Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold a new, second in a row, round of ambassador-level talks, under the auspices of the US.<\/p>\n
Beirut is seeking to secure an extension of the fragile ceasefire, in place from April 17.<\/p>\n
Israel’s diplomacy assured before these talks that ithas no “serious disagreements” with the Lebanese government,<\/b> urging the latter to opt for bilateral “cooperation” against Hezbollah<\/b>, a Shiite group affiliated with Iran. <\/p>\n
Hezbollah rejects the negotiations.<\/p>\n
The two countries held talks in Washington on April 14,<\/b>the first since 1993, as part of an effort to end the war Lebanon was drawn into on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel.<\/p>\n
The U.S. then announced a 10-day cease-fire.<\/p>\n
As in the first meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/b> will coordinate talks between Israel’s Jehiel Leiter<\/b> and Lebanon’s Nanda Hamadeh Mowaad<\/b> ambassadors in Washington.<\/b> In addition to the Lebanese ambassador, the US ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Isa<\/b>, will also be present.<\/b> According to a French Agency source at the State Department, this time the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee,<\/b><\/p>\n“Only one obstacle”<\/h3>\n
In Washington, “Lebanon will ask for a one-month extension of the ceasefire, strict observance of the ceasefire and a suspension by Israel of operations (….) destruction operations (of houses, other buildings, infrastructure) in the areas where it has a presence,” a French News Agency source in the Lebanese government said.<\/p>\n
“Contacts are under way to extend the ceasefire”<\/b>, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said. According to him, the aim of future negotiations isto “completely end Israeli attacks” and to have “Israel’s withdrawal” from the country’s territory.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The two countries agreed, after the first round of talks, to begin direct negotiations with a view to restoring a lasting peace at a time and place yet to be determined.<\/p>\n
The Lebanese government has assigned Shimon Karam, a seasoned diplomat, to lead a delegation to these negotiations.<\/p>\n
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar<\/b> assured that his government has “no serious disagreements” with that of Lebanon. “There is only one obstacle to peace and normalization (of relations) between the two countries: the Hezbollah,” he added, calling on the Lebanese government to “cooperate against the terrorist state that Hezbollah built on your territory.”<\/p>\n
The Israeli army has moved into Lebanese territory and announced that it has created a “yellow line” of separation in the south,<\/b> just like in the Gaza Strip, to protect the population of northern Israel, he said.<\/p>\n
Hezbollah, for its part, claimed responsibility for an attack the day before yesterday (Tuesday) in that area in retaliation for “flagrant” Israeli violations of the cease-fire for the first time since it came into effect.<\/p>\n
Yesterday the Israeli army said it had killed two “terrorists” the day before who had “crossed the advance defense line and were approaching soldiers” in the area.<\/p>\n
Speaking of the terms of the ceasefire, Israel maintains that it has the right to act against “planned, imminent or ongoing” attacks on Lebanese territory.<\/p>\n
The ceasefire in Lebanon has been demanded by Tehran, calling its implementation one of the necessary conditions to resume talks with Washington in view of ending the war.<\/p>\n
Lebanon’s president stressed that future negotiations will be “separate” from talks between the US and Iran.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was extending until further notice a ceasefire with Iran, in effect since April 8, against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n
At the diplomatic level, however, the situation remains confused – no negotiations have resumed, as they were supposed to earlier this week, in Islamabad between Washington and Tehran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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