Israel and Lebanon will return to U.S.-brokered negotiations in October as Israel continues to hold a security buffer extending roughly 10 kilometres inside Lebanese territory following renewed war with Hezbollah.
The next round is expected to take place in Rome.
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors are also due to meet in Washington next week.
A U.S. State Department official described implementation of the proposed agreement as the “only viable mechanism to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty and Israel’s security.”
Seven previous rounds of negotiations failed to resolve the territorial disputes.
Israel and Hezbollah resumed war on March 2.
Lebanon’s health ministry says Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,300 people since then.
WHO CONTROLS LEBANON’S WAR AND PEACE?
Washington’s emphasis on Lebanese sovereignty goes to the heart of the conflict.
Israel currently occupies territory inside Lebanon because of its war with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, maintains an armed force outside the Lebanese state’s conventional military structure.
That creates a fundamental problem for any lasting settlement.
A sovereign government is supposed to control its territory and determine when its country goes to war.
Can Lebanon fully exercise that sovereignty while Hezbollah retains an independent military capability capable of taking the country into conflict?
Sources
Reuters: Israel and Lebanon to resume U.S.-brokered security talks
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