A senior Lebanese political source from the camp opposed to Hezbollah said Thursday that repealing Lebanon's
By Bernie,
A senior Lebanese political source from the camp opposed to Hezbollah said Thursday that repealing Lebanon's decades-old law banning contact with Israelis is premature, pushing back on a step reportedly sought by Israel and the United States. The source said any such move on the Lebanese side would have to wait for substantive progress in the ongoing negotiations between Jerusalem and Beirut.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told his cabinet in Beirut on Thursday that direct contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is out of the question, amid American efforts to bring him into direct engagement. The Lebanese source added that even if the ceasefire is extended, as Beirut is seeking, the track will struggle to advance without a joint Israeli-Lebanese effort to disarm Hezbollah, particularly as the group is already working to sabotage the process through its activities on the ground.
Arab and Gulf states broadly back the Lebanese government's approach, including direct talks with Israel. Saudi Arabia, however, appears to be playing a dual role, stepping up contacts with Hezbollah's Shiite ally Nabih Berri in parallel with its support for the Beirut leadership, in an effort to ease tensions and preserve the government amid the sharp internal rift in Lebanon over the negotiations.
Topics: Lebanon & Hezbollah, Israeli Politics, Diplomacy
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