France ‘irrelevant’ to Israel-Lebanon talks, not involved – Israeli officials

France is not playing any role in the expected ceasefire talks between Israel and Lebanon, as Jerusalem views their participation as “irrelevant,” an Israeli government official and a second Israeli official tell The Times of Israel.

“There is no French involvement whatsoever,” the official says. Asked about the reason for their exclusion, the official replies that “they are unnecessary.”

A second Israeli official says that while there had been “some discussion” regarding French involvement, Israel “from the outset saw the French as not relevant” to reaching an agreement on halting the fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Responding to the officials’ remarks, a French diplomat tells The Times of Israel that “what we are hoping for is not a ticket to the meeting, but that Israel stops its offensive on Lebanon.”

All three officials decline to comment on whether France formally requested to participate in the talks, the first round of which is set to take place in Washington tomorrow.

France has condemned the scale of Israeli strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon during the US-Israeli war with Tehran, and offered earlier this month to facilitate direct talks between Jerusalem and Beirut. While France played a significant role in previous ceasefire talks between the sides, it has no formal position in the current talks and has been at increasingly visible odds with Jerusalem during the Iran conflict.