The China Mail - Lebanon, Israel hold first direct talks in decades

The two sides met at the UN peacekeeping force's headquarters in Lebanon's Naqura near the border with Israel, as part of a mechanism to oversee the ceasefire that took hold in November 2024.

Until now Israel and Lebanon, which have no formal diplomatic relations, had insisted on keeping military officers in the role.

"Today's meeting in Lebanon is an initial attempt to establish a basis for a relationship and economic cooperation between Israel and Lebanon. This is a historic development," Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for Netanyahu, said.

"This is the first step to paving a path with Lebanon and it's clear the Lebanese recognise the economic challenges they are facing," she told reporters during a briefing.

The US embassy in Beirut said in a statement that Morgan Ortagus, the US special envoy for Lebanon, also attended Wednesday's meeting.

The United States has been piling pressure on Lebanon to rapidly disarm Hezbollah.

Washington's embassy welcomed the inclusion of civilian representatives -- former Lebanese ambassador to the US Simon Karam and Israeli National Security Council official Uri Resnick -- in the talks as part of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism.

"Their inclusion reflects the Mechanism’s commitment to facilitating political and military discussions with the aim of achieving security, stability, and a durable peace for all communities affected by the conflict," it said.

Ortagus was in Jerusalem a day earlier, where she met with Netanyahu and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

The United States has pushed for direct talks between the two neighbours in a bid to stabilise the region and further weaken Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's office said earlier Wednesday his delegation would be led by Karam and it had been informed that Israel would include "a non-military member in its delegation."

Lebanon has declared itself ready for negotiations with its southern neighbour.

Israeli premier Netanyahu has repeatedly said Lebanon should join the Abraham Accords, under which a handful of Arab and Muslim countries have normalised ties with Israel.

In 1983, after Israel's invasion of Lebanon, the two countries held direct talks, resulting in the signing of an agreement that would have established relations. It was never ratified.

- 'Basis for relationship' -

The announcement came days after the first anniversary of the start of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The ceasefire with Hezbollah ended over a year of hostilities that erupted after the militant group launched attacks in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas.

Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the truce, saying it is targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure to stop the group from rebuilding its military capabilities.

Under a government-approved plan, the Lebanese army is set to dismantle Hezbollah's military infrastructure south of the river by the end of the year, before tackling the rest of the country.

Judging the Lebanese efforts insufficient, Israel has ramped up its strikes in recent weeks.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported Tuesday that Israel has been preparing for a "significant escalation" with Hezbollah, deemed "inevitable" despite Washington's efforts.

On the anniversary of the truce, the Israeli military said it had carried out around 1,200 "targeted activities" and "eliminated more than 370 terrorists" from Hezbollah, Hamas and other Palestinian groups during the ceasefire.

After his meeting with US envoy Ortagus in Jerusalem Tuesday, Foreign Minister Saar said on X that they "had a good discussion on the situation in Lebanon".

"I said that the one violating Lebanese sovereignty is Hezbollah. Hezbollah's disarmament is crucial for Lebanon's future and Israel's security," he added.

glp-mj-lma-lba/raz/jfx

B.Carter--ThChM