Lebanese-Israeli Negotiation Round in Florida: What Will the Lebanese Delegation Propose?

The "Asharq Al-Awsat" newspaper reported that Lebanon is less than three weeks away from the eighth round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations under American sponsorship. This time, however, the talks will take place at the military level and are scheduled to be held in Florida on October 20, one week before the Knesset elections in Israel on the 27th of the same month. The exact date is expected to be confirmed in the coming hours, as informed to President Joseph Aoun by the American mediator.

The Florida meeting is strictly military. Lebanon will be represented by a delegation headed by former ambassador Simon Karam, attended by Lebanon's ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, and a military team led by the Director of Operations at the Army Command, Brigadier General Georges Rizk Allah. The meeting will be sponsored by the head of the Special Military Coordination Group for Lebanon, US General Joseph Clerfield.

A source close to the negotiations revealed to "Asharq Al-Awsat" that the Lebanese delegation will again raise the issue of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel, noting that the previous release of five Lebanese and Syrian prisoners was outside the list submitted by Lebanon during the previous round of negotiations.

It pointed out that the Lebanese delegation will propose, as in the past, solidifying the ceasefire including the cessation of hostilities and expanding the "experimental zone" by adding cities and towns that remain occupied to it. Additionally, they will seek to remove the "verification mechanism" regarding the army's deployment there from political disputes by naming the team tasked with ensuring it is free of Hezbollah weapons and fighters.