Lebanese and Israeli political delegations are expected to meet in Rome on Tuesday for the next round of US-brokered direct talks, a Lebanese political source told The National.
The negotiations will take place at a particularly fragile time in Lebanon as a regional ceasefire between the US and Iran breaks down, threatening to drag Lebanon’s truce down with it.
Hezbollah has roundly rejected the terms of the US-brokered June 26 plan, which stipulates Israel’s withdrawal from designated "pilot zones". Under the terms of that agreement, Israel would withdraw and the Lebanese army would disarm Hezbollah and take over the areas.
But the Israeli army will only withdraw from southern Lebanon if Hezbollah is removed from the two so-called pilot zones, Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, told CBS News on Monday.
"If Hezbollah is going to stay there, we haven't accomplished anything, and that's why they're called pilot zones,” Mr Leiter said. "If it works, then we continue the withdrawal. If it doesn't work, then we stay where we are."
A US military delegation was in Beirut on Saturday to discuss Israel’s withdrawal from the pilot zones in Israeli-occupied Lebanese territories, according to AFP.
The arrival of the delegation was “necessary to avoid any vacuum when the Israeli forces withdraw” from the zones, the US ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa said last week, after meeting with Lebanon’s leadership.
“What will happen in Rome is a continuation of what was agreed upon in Washington,” Mr Issa said. “Several meetings will be held in the Italian capital or elsewhere to follow up on implementation, according to the stages that will be agreed upon.”
Meanwhile, Israel has not shown any indication of preparing to withdraw from southern Lebanon, with persistent attacks and demolitions across the occupied Lebanon indicating it is entrenching its military positions.
