The two-day talks will take place at the US Embassy in Rome. The United States will act as a mediator and will be represented by Dan Holler, State Department Counselor and acting director of the Office of Policy Planning, according to a report published on the Il Messaggero online newspaper.
Lebanon will be represented by its current Ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and former Ambassador, Simon Karam. Israel will be represented by its Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter.
At the heart of the discussions will be the mechanism for implementing the so-called “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon, currently under Israeli military control.
According to the framework agreement signed in Washington on June 26 by both parties, these zones must be handed over to the Lebanese Armed Forces, contingent upon the prior disarmament of Hezbollah.
This closed-door meeting will establish three commissions: a technical commission, a commission focused exclusively on security, and a military commission.
The text states that these commissions will oversee the management of these zones and determine whether the conditions imposed by Tel Aviv and Washington for the Israeli army’s withdrawal have been met.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun noted that the document signed in late June is “a framework for negotiation, not an agreement with Israel,” and asserted that Beirut demands its rights and the return of the occupied territories.
Aoun also announced a visit to Washington in late July to discuss these issues with President Donald Trump.
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