Lebanon and Israel Envoys Meet for Rare Direct Negotiations

What Happened?

This week, envoys from Lebanon and Israel met for rare face-to-face talks to try to find a way to bring the war in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah to an end. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was set to attend the meeting between Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, and his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, at 11 a.m. (1500 GMT), a State Department official said. 

The negotiations represent a rare encounter between two governments that have been technically in a state of war since Israel was established in 1948. Upon Israel’s founding in 1948, several neighboring countries, including Lebanon, immediately declared war on Israel, and conflict has continued between them ever since.

Why it Matters

Israel sees an opportunity to permanently eliminate the threat of Hezbollah by negotiating with Lebanon. Hezbollah has become deeply unpopular in Lebanon, and the Lebanese government sees a chance to regain control of the southern portion of their country, though they may not be prepared to go as far as conducting military operations against Hezbollah forces.

For its part, Hezbollah has remained defiant, refusing calls by both Lebanon and Israel to disarm while vowing to continue its fight against Israel…

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Israel has emphasized they are at war with Hezbollah, not Lebanon. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said that their foreign minister, who is meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio today, only has the authority to discuss a ceasefire with Israel.

But Israel has said they are not meeting with Lebanon to discuss a ceasefire; they are meeting to discuss the disarmament of Hezbollah. On Monday, Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem called on Lebanon to cancel the talks with Israel.

Despite Lebanon’s public statements, it is likely Israeli and Lebanese representatives will discuss the disarmament of Hezbollah in private, though there have been no indications that Lebanon is prepared to take military action.

Last month, Lebanon took the historic step of calling for Hezbollah to disarm, but the Iranian-backed militant group has refused, and they retain a significant military capability in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has enough fighters and firepower it could potentially defeat Lebanon’s Army, and if that happened, the group would likely take over the rest of the country. 

Israel has vowed to continue fighting until it has pushed Hezbollah far enough away from the border that it is out of rocket and missile range. While many Lebanese would like to see Hezbollah gone, the risk of direct confrontation with the group is that they could lose the rest of their country if Hezbollah were to prevail. 

How it Affects You

The war in Lebanon is the heaviest ground fighting to occur since the U.S. and Israel commenced combat operations against Iran. Over a million people in Lebanon have been displaced, and thousands have likely been killed. If Hezbollah remains in southern Lebanon and Iran continues to arm the group, it means that little will have been accomplished from the past two months of war. 

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