Israel and Lebanon to hold ‘working level’ talks in Florida today, US official says

Israel and Lebanon will hold US-mediated discussions at the “working level” in Tampa, Florida, today, without the participation of Jerusalem’s or Beirut’s ambassador to Washington, a US official tells The Times of Israel.

The talks set for October 20-21 are expected to focus on advancing the Trilateral Framework Agreement aimed at disarming Hezbollah and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s presidency said last week that its military delegation will demand an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon at the trilateral meeting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told The Times of Israel during a briefing on Sunday that Israel would demand that the Lebanese Armed Forces demonstrate its ability to clear Hezbollah threats from two designated pilot areas under the framework, warning that Israel would take action itself if the Lebanese military failed to do so.

“We gave you two ‘pilot zones’ – go in, clear them out. Can you do it? Good. You can’t do it? We’ll take care of it,” he said.

He also suggested that Hezbollah’s elimination could pave the way for peace between Israel and Lebanon, but did not specify a deadline for the Lebanese military to disarm the terror group.

The talks come amid heightened tensions within Lebanon over communications between the two countries, including a legal complaint filed against Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad after she allegedly contacted Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter to condemn the West Bank car ramming attack that left his son in critical condition — in apparent violation of Lebanon’s laws forbidding direct contact with Israel. The US State Department publicly condemned the complaint against Moawad and was weighing sanctions against Lebanese judges involved in handling it, a US official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel last week.