Israel is demanding that the Lebanese army prove it can dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure before any Israeli withdrawal from border areas, including by inspecting tunnels in the Ali al-Taher area to ensure they are free of Hezbollah operatives, an American source told Al Arabiya on Wednesday.
The comments came as Israeli and Lebanese representatives resumed U.S.-mediated talks in Washington, with Israel insisting on a “step-by-step” process in which the Lebanese army takes concrete action on the ground before any Israeli pullback.
“Israel is demanding steps on the ground from the Lebanese army before any withdrawal,” the source was quoted as saying. “Israel is demanding that the Lebanese army prove its ability to dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure.”
The fifth round of talks opened at the U.S. State Department with a joint military and political session, a senior American official told the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. The official said Washington’s goal was “to end the cycle of violence” and allow Israel and Lebanon “to negotiate as two sovereign states,” adding that the talks would continue in an effort to advance “a comprehensive agreement of peace and security between Lebanon and Israel.”
Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed channel reported that the first part of the meeting had ended and described the atmosphere as “positive.”
But Israel’s representative to the talks warned that the process was at risk of derailment, saying the core premise of the negotiations, removing Iran’s influence from Lebanon and dismantling Hezbollah, appeared to be slipping from the agenda.
“This is the fifth round of talks, and I have to say, we are in a train wreck,” Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said during the Washington meeting.
“Four rounds ago, we all boarded the same train. We sat in the same car and traveled toward the same destination, with the U.S. serving as the locomotive,” he said. “The train was heading in a very clear direction: full peace between the countries, Iran out and its malign influence out of Lebanon; the dismantling of Hezbollah; peace and security for Lebanon and Israel.”
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter
(Photo: Andrew Harnik / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Lebanon and Israel do not have diplomatic relations and remain formally at war. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite terrorist organization and political movement, is Lebanon’s dominant armed force and has long operated along the border with Israel. Israel says Hezbollah’s presence there violates Lebanese sovereignty and threatens communities in northern Israel.
Leiter said the diplomatic track was now in danger because the focus had shifted away from Hezbollah’s disarmament and Iran’s role in Lebanon.
“Today, that train is at risk of coming off the rails. I hope we can put it back on track,” he said. “The premise was that Iran is out, and that the central discussion is about Lebanon and Hezbollah, not about how much Iran can restrain Hezbollah. That is not Iran’s role. Its role is to get out of Lebanon.”
Leiter said Lebanon’s government must exercise its sovereignty by ensuring that Iran is no longer involved in “malign activity or influence” in the country. He also warned that any U.S.-Iran understanding must prevent Tehran from continuing to fund Hezbollah and other regional proxies.
“Israel very much hopes the MOU will succeed,” he said, referring to a possible memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran. “We all support President Trump’s vision to ensure that Iran no longer has nuclear capabilities, ballistic missiles or the ability to funnel money to its proxies in order to threaten its neighbors and establish regional hegemony.”
Leiter also rejected the term “deconfliction” in the Lebanese context, saying Israel was not in conflict with Lebanon itself.
“All that is required is coordination with Lebanon,” he said. “The only issue is Hezbollah. Hezbollah must be defeated and removed from the equation.”
He said the previous round of talks had been based on several principles, including that Israel-Lebanon relations would be determined by the two sovereign governments, outside interference would be rejected, Hezbollah would be dismantled and Iran’s regional conduct would be condemned.
(Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)
“I therefore ask: Does the dismantling of Hezbollah still form the basis of these discussions?” Leiter said. “From our perspective, it must remain so.”
He added that Israel had agreed to a ceasefire conditioned on Hezbollah withdrawing north, saying, “We cannot allow commitments to evaporate.”
While the talks were taking place in Washington, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar addressed the situation in Lebanon during a JNS conference in Jerusalem, saying Israel views Hezbollah as the main obstacle to stability on both sides of the border.
“The problem was and remains Hezbollah, for Lebanon and for Israel,” Sa’ar said. “Hezbollah is the No. 1 obstacle to Lebanon’s independence and sovereign future, and also to Israel’s security. Therefore, this is a shared challenge.”
Sa’ar also rejected international criticism accusing Israel of violating Lebanese sovereignty.
“We hear statements in the international community that Israel is violating Lebanon’s sovereignty. That is not the truth,” he said. “Hezbollah is violating Lebanon’s sovereignty. Iran is violating Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
Against the backdrop of the reported U.S.-Iran understandings, Arab media outlets have reported in recent days that Qatar, one of the mediators in those contacts, could become involved in future negotiations connected to Lebanon.
US President Donald Trump meets with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Evian, France
(Photo: Mandel NGAN / AFP)
The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that talks in Switzerland had approved a Qatari initiative under which Doha would mediate indirect negotiations between Israel and Hezbollah, while not bypassing the official Lebanese side, with the aim of reaching a stable, long-term ceasefire.
Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed channel presented the matter differently, saying Qatar would mediate between Israel and the Lebanese state, in coordination with the United States, and would work with Saudi Arabia to reduce tensions and stabilize a ceasefire.
Al-Jadeed also claimed that the talks include discussions on exchanging the remains of Israeli navigator Ron Arad for Lebanese prisoners held in Israel. Israeli officials said they were not familiar with the report and denied the claim, whose reliability remains unclear.
Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator, has been missing since his plane was shot down over Lebanon in 1986. He was captured by Lebanese Shiite terrorists, and his fate remains one of Israel’s most painful unresolved military cases.