Senior US and Israeli officials on Wednesday night denied in conversations with The Jerusalem Post a Reuters report that Israel and Lebanon had already agreed on the countries that could participate in a future international mechanism in Lebanon that would oversee Hezbollah’s disarmament and verify the Lebanese military’s activities.
Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Israel and Lebanon had agreed on the UK, Italy, Switzerland, and Indonesia as countries that could contribute troops to the proposed mechanism, under which foreign forces would be deployed in Lebanon to verify Hezbollah’s disarmament.
However, an Israeli source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post that the report was incorrect. “There is no agreement on the composition of the body that will oversee and verify the Lebanese military’s work in the pilot areas. Negotiations on the matter are continuing,” the source said.
A US official also denied that an agreement had already been reached between the sides. According to the official, there is still no agreement between Lebanon and Israel regarding the countries that could deploy troops in Lebanon after the conclusion of UNIFIL’s operations, with the aim of assisting in the process of disarming Hezbollah. The US official stressed that discussions on the matter were still ongoing.
The dispute over the identity of the body that will verify the Lebanese military’s activities is one of the central issues the sides are working on as part of US-mediated talks.
Israel, Lebanon agreed to implement pilot zones
On Wednesday, a US State Department official said, following the conclusion of three days of technical talks in Rome, that while the sides had agreed on the details needed to implement the pilot areas and other aspects of the trilateral framework, including common definitions for “verification” and “clearing” the territory, significant details still remained to be resolved.
According to the US official, one of the questions still under consideration is who exactly will verify the Lebanese military’s clearing operations. The talks included discussion of the possibility of third-party verification as part of US-led diplomatic involvement that would complement the trilateral framework.
The military delegations agreed in Rome on operational parameters, shared maps, and a road map that would allow additional pilot areas to be opened at a later stage. During the next round of technical talks, Lebanon is expected to present detailed plans for securing new areas, while continuing to implement the plan in areas where it is already operating.
US expresses opposition to renewing UNIFIL mandate
The US also reiterated during the talks its opposition to renewing UNIFIL’s mandate, and Israel and Lebanon agreed to work with Washington on a future framework that would support the trilateral mechanism. The diplomatic track is expected to resume in Rome in early September, with contacts continuing in Beirut, Jerusalem, and Washington until then.
The State Department official stressed on Wednesday that despite the difficulties, Washington was satisfied with the direction of the progress. According to the official, the first pilot areas are already operational, and the teams succeeded in reaching common ground on professional terminology, maps, and procedures. However, the official warned that Hezbollah was attempting to undermine the process and that both Israel and Lebanon were facing domestic political pressure.
According to the official, the fact that teams from both sides sat together, communicated directly, and developed possible solutions was itself a significant change. The US plan is to move forward gradually, first demonstrating that the pilot areas work and only then expanding the model to additional areas.
