Al-Riyadh newspaper | Lebanon: Direct negotiations end the (Israel) war

Beirut demands a timetable for Israel’s withdrawal (AFP)

With Lebanon entering a new round of talks with Israel in Washington, amid its determination to move forward with direct negotiations, even if this round appears to be overshadowed by Iran’s decision to include the Lebanese file in its negotiations with the United States.

Lebanese officials have insisted that direct negotiations with Israel are the only way to end the war that has been raging since March 2, when the Hezbollah group fired missiles and drones at Israel in support of Iran, leading to Israeli air and ground attacks that killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon. But four rounds of Lebanese-Israeli talks since April have not resulted in a permanent ceasefire.

Instead, the longest lull in fighting came this week after Iran and the United States agreed to a memorandum of understanding that calls for a halt to fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon.

A Lebanese official and two foreign officials concerned with Lebanese affairs said that the Iranian-American agreement pulled the rug from under the feet of the Lebanese state, leaving it in its weakest position yet, and raised questions about the feasibility of its talks with Israel this week. The Lebanese official expressed doubt that the negotiations, which are scheduled to last three days, will result in any tangible progress. The official said, “There is still a fundamental problem of trust between us and the Israelis in these talks. We cannot meet their demands, and they reject all of our demands.”

Lebanon announced that one of its main goals in the talks was to ensure Israeli military withdrawal, but senior Israeli officials said that the forces would remain in southern Lebanon indefinitely.

The Lebanese official said that Beirut will demand that Israel provide a “reasonable” timetable for its withdrawal during the talks. He said, “This is the only opportunity we have to create momentum in these talks, and in this conflict with Iran.”

On the other hand, Israel believes that the purpose of the talks is to “disarm Hezbollah and reach a real peace agreement” with Lebanon, which was stated in a briefing given by Israeli government spokesman David Mincer on the eve of the new negotiations. Mincer said that the only obstacle to reaching an agreement with Lebanon is the Hezbollah group, “and that is why we believe it must be disarmed and dismantled.”

The Lebanese government has moved cautiously since 2025 to disarm Hezbollah without directly confronting the group, fearing that this would lead to civil conflict. Hezbollah refused to completely disarm, and called on the government to withdraw from its direct talks with Israel.

The allies of US President Donald Trump defended him this week in the face of Israeli public opinion, which is concerned about the temporary agreement between the United States and Iran, and in the face of criticism from the White House as well, which seemed to reveal cracks in the alliance that has linked Israel and Washington for decades.

American-Israeli relations have undergone severe fluctuations, starting from mutual trust at the beginning after their joint attack on Iran, to public disagreements between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to end the war that has been ongoing for four months. Netanyahu and many Israelis believe that the memorandum of understanding that Trump concluded with Iran entails the risk of empowering a state that they see as Israel’s arch enemy, and restricting their ability to respond to threats issued by the Lebanese Hezbollah group supported by Tehran.

They also feel that the alliance with the United States – which has long been the cornerstone of Israel’s strategic approach – is under pressure, as opinion polls show Americans growing dissatisfied with Israel, and their most powerful defender in Washington appears to be turning away from them. “The United States and Israel have an inextricable relationship,” US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Sunday. Huckabee had previously acknowledged that there was a “tremendous level of concern about the relationship” between the two sides.

In addition to their concerns about the wording of the Iranian nuclear agreement, Israelis are concerned about Trump’s insistence that Israel agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and his language in response to Netanyahu’s resistance to those agreements. In the past few weeks, Trump has called Netanyahu a “fucking lunatic,” rebuked Israel, saying, “You don’t have to demolish an apartment every time you look for someone,” and publicly wondered about the possibility of asking Syria to replace Israeli forces in Lebanon.

Trump’s deputy, J.D. Vance, also took a more critical tone, saying, “Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who sympathizes with the State of Israel at this very moment,” adding in later statements that not all criticism of Israel should be considered anti-Semitism.

The fact that such sharp views emanate from the Republican Party to which Trump belongs raises particular concern for a number of Israelis, especially since American Democrats criticize Israel much louder than was the case in previous years.