Narrow opening: Can Lebanon’s push for talks shift Israel’s war calculus?
Although Israel, for the moment, refuses to halt military operations in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah as rocket and missile strikes continue, sources say Israel is nevertheless leaving the door open to negotiations.
TEL AVIV — Indirect contacts between Israel and Lebanon are ongoing after Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Thursday that his government is ready to immediately enter direct negotiations with the Israeli side to end the war.
In an interview with CNN, Salam said, "To help put an end to the Lebanese conflict. I would like to reaffirm to President [Donald] Trump our readiness to enter into immediate negotiations." He called the United States a "strategic partner" and said Trump, “more than anyone else,” could "play a decisive role" in ending the war.
Although Israel, for the moment, refuses to halt military operations in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah as rocket and missile strikes continue, sources say Israel is nevertheless leaving the door open to negotiations. Meanwhile, opinions among current and former Israeli officials are divided over the prudence of directing military resources at Hezbollah, rather than focusing solely on Iran, without whose support the militia could collapse.
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