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Rome talks move toward pilot zones
Lebanon and Israel concluded a new round of direct talks in Rome mediated by the United States, with a US official saying progress had been made in implementing a security plan that could lead to the start of an Israeli troop withdrawal from some areas of southern Lebanon in the coming days.
“Lebanese and Israeli officials have ended another round of US-mediated talks, focusing on a plan to establish “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon from which Israeli forces would begin withdrawing”
The talks, held at the ambassadorial level at the US Embassy in Rome on Tuesday and Wednesday, were the sixth round of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2nd.
A US official said the two sides had made progress in talks regarding the implementation of the “pilot zones” plan, which aims to implement security arrangements in preparation for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from a number of areas in southern Lebanon.
The first steps in implementing the plan are expected to begin in the coming days, provided technical and military understandings between the two sides are finalized, including Israeli withdrawal from some of the agreed-upon positions within the first phase.
Neither the Lebanese nor the Israeli government has issued an official statement regarding the outcome of this round of talks, while the United States continues its efforts to monitor the implementation of the understandings and oversee the next steps within the framework of its ongoing mediation.
Positive language, unresolved details
A US official described the Rome meetings as “productive and positive,” saying, “We agreed on the structure and guidelines for the pilot zone process, to be finalised and implemented in the coming days,” as Lebanon and Israel moved toward a technical phase to implement the framework deal.
Al Jazeera reported that the two-day diplomatic talks in Rome ended on Wednesday with a US official calling the meetings “productive and positive,” while the statement did not specify where the pilot zones would be.
Sami Halabi, director of policy at the think tank Badil: The Alternative Policy Institute, said the pilot zone initiative will test Israel’s willingness to withdraw from Lebanon, the US’s leverage over Israel as well as the Lebanese army’s ability to reestablish its presence.
Halabi said, “We’re at the point where Lebanon is moving from performing its sovereignty to piloting its sovereignty through these pilot zones,” and he warned that progress remains shaky and could “fall apart at any time.”
Al Jazeera also said the direct talks have continued despite deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon and strong objections from Hezbollah, which rejects disarming and says only pressure from its ally Iran can secure an end to the war and Israel’s withdrawal.
Human cost and what’s at risk
The stakes for the pilot zones are framed against the scale of the war, with Al Jazeera saying that “More than 4,000 Lebanese have been killed and more than a million displaced by Israel’s war on Lebanon since March,” according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
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Al Jazeera also reported that “At least 32 Israeli soldiers and four Israeli civilians have been killed by Hezbollah,” most of them in southern Lebanon, since Israel began its attacks.
In Rome, the US-brokered June 26 framework deal ties any phased Israeli withdrawal to disarmament of Hezbollah and the deployment of the Lebanese army, with Al Jazeera describing the plan as exchanging withdrawal from pilot zones for disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Al Jazeera quoted Halabi saying the “best-case scenario is that it starts a structured and credible process” in which Israeli forces withdraw from southern Lebanon and Lebanon’s army takes over, but he cautioned that “any misstep could lead us to an all-out conflict.”
The talks’ immediate next step is a move to technical discussions to implement the framework deal and reach a “comprehensive agreement between Israel and Lebanon,” with the US official saying the process would be finalized and implemented in the coming days.
