Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon postponed until October

The diplomatic discussions initially planned for next week in Rome between Israel and Lebanon have been postponed until October, an official from American diplomacy, mediator of these difficult talks, announced on Friday. The ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel to the United States are still due to meet next week in Washington “to discuss recent developments and the gradual implementation” of the agreement reached between the two countries in June, said this State Department official, on condition of anonymity.

But he clarified that “the next round of formal negotiations will take place in Rome in October,” pushing back a negotiating session initially scheduled for September. Israel and Lebanon, still technically in a state of war, signed a framework agreement at the end of June which provides for the deployment of the Lebanese army in “pilot zones” evacuated by Israel – which still occupies part of the south of the country – subject to disarmament of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.

Also read Ali el-Taher, next decisive battle in the war in Lebanon: the story of the special correspondent of Le Figaro

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This agreement “remains the only viable mechanism to restore the sovereignty of Lebanon and the security of Israel,” the American official insisted on Friday. The terrorist movement has repeatedly rejected this agreement and refuses to lay down its arms. Despite a ceasefire in force since June, Israel is still carrying out strikes in Lebanon. On Thursday, Israel carried out widespread destruction against Hezbollah that destroyed an underground compound used by the pro-Iranian movement in southern Lebanon. The explosion was so powerful that the United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a tremor of magnitude 4.1, the equivalent of a small earthquake.

During the summer, Israel and Lebanon held two discussion sessions in Rome, under the auspices of the United States. Washington announced in mid-August a third “early September”, still in the Italian capital. A source close to the matter affirms that it was calendar issues, and in particular the UN General Assembly scheduled for the end of September, which led to the postponement of this round of negotiations, initially scheduled for next week.