Ali Bardi – Middle East
On Wednesday, Lebanese and Israeli negotiators began talks described as “preliminary” with senior officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump in preparation for a third round of direct negotiations to be held Thursday, hoping to reach “arrangements” prepared by Washington, amid parallel efforts in New York to create an “international alternative” to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Amid secrecy about the formulas proposed by both parties to move towards “tangible and rapid progress” in the Lebanese-Israeli talks, the American mediators want to strive to “reach a comprehensive peace and security agreement that fundamentally addresses the basic concerns of the two countries,” and not return to the “failed approach” of previous talks, including the tripartite meetings that were of a military nature with the participation of “UNIFIL.”
The US State Department confirmed after the second round that the United States is working to “reconcile these interests in a way that achieves permanent security for Israel, and sovereignty and reconstruction for Lebanon.”
Asharq Al-Awsat learned that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, is conducting extensive consultations with senior officials from the United States, France, and the rest of the permanent member states of the Security Council, as well as Western and Arab countries, regarding “future formulas” for maintaining an “international presence” across the Lebanese-Israeli border after the current mandate of UNIFIL expires at the end of this year, amid a focus on “the necessity of a strong monitoring mechanism.”
An American “veto” on the survival of “UNIFIL”
In what appears to be in harmony with the Israeli rejection, the United States placed a “veto” on proposals to maintain “UNIFIL” and give it “a new role under Chapter Seven of the United Nations Charter,” which means enabling it to implement its mandate by military force if necessary.
It is not known whether Guterres will listen further to another proposal that includes expanding and strengthening the Truce Monitoring Mission “UNTOS”, which has been deployed since 1949 along the border between Lebanon and Israel (as well as between other Arab countries and Israel) to monitor the so-called “Armistice Line” that was established by a Lebanese-Israeli agreement signed on March 23, 1949, with the mission being renamed “UNTO Plus.” There is another proposal that requires the establishment of a new international monitoring force consisting of more than A thousand elements such as the multinational force and observers in Sinai, which monitors the implementation of the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel without a mandate from the United Nations.
In light of these efforts, the third round of negotiations begins with the participation of a Lebanese delegation headed by former Ambassador Simon Karam, accompanied by the Ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamada Moawad, the Deputy Head of the Diplomatic Mission, Wissam Boutros, and the Military Attaché at the Lebanese Embassy, Oliver Hakimah.
On the Israeli side, Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and official Uri Reznick are attending, and Ron Dermer’s attendance has not yet been confirmed.
The Lebanese delegation seeks to achieve progress on five points: a ceasefire and its stabilization, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, addressing the border issue, the release of prisoners, and the return of displaced residents to their villages with the reconstruction of what was destroyed by the war, as a prelude to a permanent peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
In return, the Israeli delegation demands the elimination of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, the establishment of a buffer zone along the Lebanese border with Israel, and the establishment of peace and normalization between the two countries.
The two delegations will have to agree to extend the ceasefire despite the continuation of combat operations between Israel and Hezbollah, in light of the widespread Israeli destruction of Lebanese cities and villages.
