Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel wants direct negotiations with Lebanon regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah and the establishment of peaceful relations. He insists that Lebanon is not part of the Iranian ceasefire agreement. A Lebanese official said: “There will be no intense negotiations.”
Lebanon says it will not negotiate with Israel during attack
A Lebanese official told CNN that “there will be no intense negotiations” in response to Israel’s plan to start “direct negotiations” to end hostilities, while an Israeli official told CNN that “there will be no ceasefire” and “the negotiations will take place under fire.” In another video message, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated that there is no ceasefire with Lebanon as he ordered the latest talks. CNN’s Nada Bashir reported from Lebanon.
A Lebanese official told CNN the government had not heard about the possibility of talks between Israel and Beirut in Washington, D.C., next week, after Israeli and U.S. officials said negotiations between Israel and Lebanon were scheduled to begin at the U.S. State Department.
Lebanese foreign ministry and presidential palace have not been formally informed of Netanyahu’s invitation to start dialogue, Lebanese officials said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to seek direct negotiations with Lebanon was at the request of US President Donald Trump, sources told CNN. President Trump said in an interview with NBC News that he has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be “a little more modest” in his operations in Lebanon, with talks scheduled for Saturday in Pakistan as the United States seeks to negotiate an end to the war with Iran.
Israeli attacks across Lebanon threaten to derail the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran. At least 303 people were killed in Wednesday’s Israeli airstrike, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.
