Israel and Lebanon to hold 2nd meeting later this month on economic cooperation – report

Israeli and Lebanese representatives agreed to hold another meeting later this month to continue exploring economic cooperation, after the two neighbors held their first direct talks in decades yesterday, Channel 12 reports, citing Israeli officials.

The officials tell the Hebrew network that the meeting lasted over an hour and was “good,” adding that representatives of both countries are expected to come to the next meeting with “practical proposals” to promote economic cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology, transportation and infrastructure.

The Prime Minister’s Office does not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday that the meeting was held “in a positive spirit,” and that Israel emphasized that “the disarmament of Hezbollah is mandatory, regardless of progress in economic cooperation.” Israel and the United States have pushed Lebanon to disarm the terror group inacordance with the terms of a ceasefire agreement signed a year ago that ended the 2023-2024 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

An Israeli official tells Channel 12, “The fact that Israel is entering and taking part in economic elements inside Lebanon is a clear statement that Hezbollah has finished its role in Lebanon. We are prepared to move forward together with the Lebanese government, but it must deal with Hezbollah.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, following the meeting, said economic cooperation would only follow a peace agreement between the sides.

“Economic [talks] will be a part of normalization, normalization will follow peace. It cannot precede peace,” Salam said, when asked about Israel’s statements that it was hoping to build ties and economic cooperation with Lebanon.

“We are far from being there,” he told reporters at his office.

Reuters contributed to this report.