Israel proposing joint plan for phased Hezbollah disarmament, broader Lebanon peace, envoy says

Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter says Jerusalem will present Beirut with a framework to gradually disarm Hezbollah and expand political ties during the third round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington later today, in a Hebrew-language interview with Walla news.

Seeing that — despite Beirut’s declarations that southern Lebanon is being cleared of Hezbollah weapons — the Iran-backed terror group remains armed, Israel hopes to advance a framework in today’s talks through which both countries can ensure its disarmament, Leiter says.

Since Hezbollah began attacking Israel in support of Iran in March, “we have found 8,000 rockets, missiles and weapons in southern Lebanon. Tunnels and armaments. There are Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon despite the declarations,” the envoy says. “We came and said: this game is over. We need to see, in practice, how the Lebanese government strengthens the Lebanese Army and acts concretely.”

According to Leiter, Israel is proposing a gradual on-the-ground process: “We will jointly define a specific area and plan with them how that area will be cleared, and afterward continue onward.”

He adds that Israel is prepared to pursue a broader diplomatic track contingent on the success of disarmament efforts: “We are prepared for two tracks. One track is to conduct negotiations for full peace as though Hezbollah does not exist — borders, embassies, visas, tourism, everything. An agreement like that could be reached within a few months. But it would be contingent on the success of the second track — dismantling Hezbollah.”

Linking the efforts against Hezbollah to US talks with Iran, Leiter says he stressed to US President Donald Trump and other senior US officials in the last round of talks that any agreement with Tehran “must include an end to [Iran’s] support for [regional] proxies.” In the same meeting, Leiter says that Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh told Trump “that if the agreement with Iran does not include a total cessation of support for Hezbollah, there will be no future for Lebanon.”

The envoy says the current shaky ceasefire in Lebanon, announced shortly after the first round of talks last month, “is a ceasefire in aspiration… but we will protect our soldiers and our civilians under all circumstances, and under no condition will we agree to stop and allow Hezbollah to rearm.”

Israel’s envoys will tell their Lebanese counterparts during today’s talks that it will not commit to a full ceasefire with Hezbollah but may offer to reduce its military operations, sources told the Saudi channel Al Arabiya, adding that the US supports Israel’s position.