Israel and Lebanon Open Direct Talks in Rome
Israel and Lebanon opened a fresh round of rare direct talks in Rome on Tuesday, hosted at the US embassy, in an American-backed effort to ease tensions along their volatile border. Israeli military officers joined the delegation, and Lebanon pointed to its interception of rockets smuggled from Syria as proof it was enforcing disarmament. Hezbollah denounced the negotiations as a “shame”.
Direct contact between the two states, which remain formally at war, is unusual and reflects Washington’s push to stabilise a front that has flared repeatedly. Lebanon’s government is under pressure to disarm Hezbollah and assert control over its south, a task the group’s leader, Naim Qassem, denounced as capitulation. The talks test whether Beirut can curb the powerful movement without reigniting internal conflict. Progress, if any, is likely to be slow and fiercely contested. Watch whether the Rome track holds or Hezbollah moves to derail it.