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Rome talks pause amid escalation
Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome were suspended Wednesday afternoon and were set to resume on Thursday, with a U.S. State Department official telling Al-Monitor that the talks "ended early due to events on the ground but will reconvene tomorrow morning."
“ended early due to events on the ground but will reconvene tomorrow morning.”
Al-Monitor reported that the seventh round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, taking place in Rome, was suspended after the Israeli delegation asked the American representatives to suspend the direct talks with Lebanon for a few hours over alleged leaks by Beirut.
France 24 reported that Israel resumed military strikes on southern Lebanon on Wednesday, blaming Hezbollah for violating a ceasefire, while Lebanon said at least one person was killed in the attacks.
France 24 also said the Israeli military issued its first evacuation alert in weeks for the town of Mansouri, and the military said it was acting after a "blatant violation of the ceasefire" by Hezbollah.
Al-Monitor added that earlier in the day the Israeli military issued a warning to residents of the southern Lebanese village of al-Mansouri to evacuate following what it described as a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire agreement by Hezbollah, shortly before airstrikes in the area.
Disarmament dispute and distrust
At the Rome talks, Lebanon and Israel remained split over disarming Hezbollah, according to a senior Lebanese official cited by Al Jazeera, with the negotiations aimed to shore up a fragile ceasefire and build on a framework agreement signed in June.
Al Jazeera reported that Hezbollah, not party to the talks, said it will pull back from south of the Litani River but will not disarm to the north, where Ali Taher lies, while Zeina Khodr reported from Nabatieh that "Israeli officials have made this clear time and time again."
New York Post quoted U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott saying the discussions would advance full implementation of the Trilateral Framework, including "verified disarmament of Hezbollah and other Iran-backed security threats."
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem denounced the resumption of Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome, telling Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen channel that negotiations with Jerusalem had brought the country "nothing except shame, humiliation, disappointment and one concession after another."
France 24 reported that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Tuesday that direct negotiations would bring "nothing but shame, humiliation" and successive concessions for Lebanon, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam blamed the group for dragging Lebanon into "absurd" wars.
What’s at stake in the south
Lebanon’s negotiating position in Rome centered on phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon to pave the way for the Lebanese army’s deployment step by step and the return of the displaced, while the talks also addressed a verification mechanism and the inspection of private property and civilian homes, according to Al-Monitor and Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
“push more than 15 families out of their homes”
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat said Israel raised the tempo of pressure on the Lebanese negotiating delegation by issuing an evacuation warning for al-Manṣūrī, and it reported that the warning reinforced Lebanese suspicion that Tel Aviv was pressuring Beirut because the evacuation would push more than 15 families out of their homes.
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat also reported that there was no consensus on the second model area Lebanon demands to include the towns of Bent Jbeil and Al-Khiam, which the Israeli side rejects, while the Lebanese side stressed openness to implementing the second experimental area in any other occupied area in southern Lebanon if Bent Jbeil and Al-Khiam were rejected.
CNN Arabic reported that the talks sponsored by the United States between Israel and Lebanon ended on Wednesday before the expected deadline at 3:30 p.m. local time, with a U.S. State Department official saying it was "due to developments on the ground."
France 24 said the negotiations were scheduled to run until Thursday, and it reported that the Israeli military told residents of Mansouri, "For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north," as the truce remained fragile.
