After Postponement of Rome Talks, Israel-Lebanon Meeting Set for Washington This Week

Israeli ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter is expected to meet with Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh Muwadah this week, according to an Israeli source who spoke to Haaretz yesterday.

This meeting comes after the postponement of negotiations between the two countries’ negotiating teams, originally set for Rome, to next month. The meeting is part of ongoing U.S. efforts to restart the stalled talks.

According to a Haaretz report, Israel feels frustrated by what it sees as the Lebanese army’s unwillingness to directly confront Hezbollah in the limited areas under its control. Meanwhile, Lebanon has expressed hesitation about resuming talks at this time, following the Israeli military’s destruction of Hezbollah tunnels beneath the strategic Ali al-Tahir heights.

A source familiar with the details told Haaretz that the decision to postpone the Rome talks until next month was primarily logistical, stemming from scheduling constraints among participants, including Jewish holidays in Israel and preparations for the UN General Assembly.

Last Saturday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun made an unexpected visit to the city of Nabatiyyeh, near the Ali al-Tahir heights in southern Lebanon recently captured by the Israeli military, as well as to the western village of Zawtari in one of the experimental zones from which the Israeli army had withdrawn.

During his visit, Aoun stated: "There are no new talks with Israel at this time." He reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to returning southern Lebanon’s residents to their homes, securing the release of prisoners of war, and achieving the withdrawal of the Israeli military.

Last week, the Israeli military announced it had destroyed Hezbollah’s underground infrastructure in the Lebanese Ali al-Tahir heights, after Iran previously warned the United States it would respond to such an attack on the group’s main stronghold.