Israel-Lebanon talks suspended amid escalation, set to resume Thursday
The Israeli delegation asked the American representatives to suspend the direct talks with Lebanon for a few hours over alleged leaks by Beirut.
TEL AVIV, WASHINGTON — The seventh round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, taking place in Rome, was suspended Wednesday afternoon, Israeli, US and Lebanese official sources told Al-Monitor. The talks will resume on Thursday.
A US State Department official told Al-Monitor that the talks "ended early due to events on the ground but will reconvene tomorrow morning."
"Discussions focused on a range of political and military issues and were extremely productive. The technical teams made progress on determining key details on implementation of the Trilateral Framework," the official said.
A Lebanese official confirmed the pause and attributed it to the security situation in south Lebanon. An Israeli diplomatic source, however, said alleged leaks were behind the pause.
“Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter asked the US side to suspend the talks approximately three hours before their scheduled conclusion, following repeated misleading leaks by the Lebanese delegation,” said the source, adding that the talks are expected to resume tomorrow.
According to Channel 12, the current round of talks is focused on assessing the effectiveness of the two pilot-zone projects, under which the Israeli military is withdrawing to allow the Lebanese army to enter, as well as the possibility of expanding the program to additional locations in southern Lebanon.
The seventh round began Tuesday and was scheduled to continue for three days. As in previous rounds, the Israeli delegation was headed by Leiter, but several security officials joined this round, including representatives of the military, the Defense Ministry and the National Security Council.
Wednesday's talks took place against the backdrop of increased tensions between the sides. Earlier in the day, the Israeli military issued a warning to residents of the southern Lebanese village of al-Mansouri to evacuate following what it described as a “flagrant violation” of the ceasefire agreement by Hezbollah. Shortly afterward, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes in the area.
Separately, Ynet reported that several young women who are activists with a far-right group called “Wake Up the North” breached the border and illegally entered Lebanese territory. The group advocates for continued Israeli occupation and Jewish settlement in south Lebanon.
This developing story has been updated since publication.
