Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had instructed officials to open direct negotiations with Lebanon.
According to information obtained by Israel Hayom, contacts and message exchanges between Israel and the Lebanese government continued for many months, for more than a year, focusing primarily on dealings with Hezbollah, including the transfer of intelligence on the movements of the organization's terrorists and its weapons stockpiles.
Israel did not spare criticism of the Lebanese government, and especially its army, for failing to do enough to implement the November 2024 agreement.
Since the start of the current conflict with Hezbollah, the pace of the contacts has increased. The Lebanese government expressed willingness to hold public, direct negotiations on a full agreement and asked Israel not to strike civilian infrastructure targets. Israel largely complied with that request, except for infrastructure used by Hezbollah, such as bridges over the Litani River, as first revealed by Israel Hayom.
Negotiations to open next week
Negotiations between Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to open next Tuesday at ambassadorial level. The talks will be held in the State Department building in Washington. Israel will be represented by Israeli Ambassador to the US Dr. Yechiel Leiter, while Lebanon will also be represented by its ambassador in the city.
Israel has made clear that it will not compromise on the security of northern residents before the negotiations begin or while they are underway. It also will not withdraw the Israel Defense Forces from areas it has seized in Lebanon, and there will be strict enforcement of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which bans weapons smuggling south of the Litani. At the same time, the assessment is that there will be some reduction in the intensity of the fire in order to signal that Israel is currently interested in a diplomatic track.
Lebanon wants a ceasefire
According to a Lebanese source who spoke to Reuters, Beirut wants a temporary ceasefire in order to hold direct dialogue with Israel. The Lebanese source added that the negotiation track with Israel would be separate from the negotiations with Iran.
About an hour before Netanyahu's announcement on opening direct talks with Lebanon, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed that "the only solution to the situation in Lebanon is to achieve a ceasefire with Israel, after which direct negotiations between the two countries will take place."
