Ahead of Washington talks, Israel has little choice but to accept ceasefire in Lebanon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had little choice but to agree to direct talks with Beirut as it became clear that Hezbollah is unlikely to be quickly disarmed.
TEL AVIV — Israel might accept a ceasefire in Lebanon in order to advance the talks with Beirut expected to be held in Washington on Tuesday, Israeli officials told Al-Monitor on Thursday night. The Israeli military has been pushing to continue its campaign in southern Lebanon and beyond while talks are underway in Washington.
The Israeli political leadership realizes that agreeing to a ceasefire is inevitable, the officials explained, stressing that for direct talks to advance, Israel will have to halt its military campaign. Talks are expected to take place at the US State Department, where Israel will be represented by its ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, while Lebanon’s delegation will be headed by Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is chairing the process, Lebanese newspaper Annahar reported.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump confirmed he had told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back a barrage of strikes Israel was conducting in Lebanon so as not to threaten the ceasefire and upcoming talks between the US and Iran. “Netanyahu is going to be fine. He’s going to low-key a little bit. He’s got a problem with Hezbollah. He’s going to low-key a little bit, but he’s going to be absolutely fine,” Trump told Israeli journalist Neria Kraus in a phone conversation on Thursday. The Israeli officials said that Trump is now likely to ask Netanyahu to stop the strikes altogether, giving both the Israel-Lebanon talks and the US-Iran negotiations a real chance to succeed.
Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir had said on Thursday, before Netanyahu’s announcement on talks with Beirut — that the fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon is the military’s primary combat zone. “The Israeli military is in a state of war; we are not in a ceasefire. We continue to fight here in this sector,” he said during a visit to the outskirts of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon. Still, the Israeli officials estimated much could change in that arena ahead of Tuesday’s talks in Washington.
