Lebanon’s offer for direct talks with Israel falls on deaf ears, sources say

Israel has rebuffed an offer of direct talks from Lebanon, deeming it too little too late from a government that shares its goal of disarming Hezbollah but cannot act against the heavily armed Lebanese group without risking a civil war.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed the state’s willingness to begin direct negotiations with Israel this week, seeking to secure an end to the conflict that erupted on March 2 when Hezbollah entered the regional war in support of its patron Iran.

Two sources familiar with Aoun’s position say he has begun appointing a negotiating delegation and in some private meetings, he went as far as to say he was ready to move toward normalizing ties.

“Everything is on the table,” a third source familiar with his position tells Reuters when asked about normalization.

The Lebanese state’s stance reflects unprecedented levels of domestic opposition to Hezbollah’s status as an armed group: the government last week banned the group from military activities.

But with Hezbollah still wielding a powerful arsenal and backed by a significant portion of Lebanon’s Shi’ite Muslim community, carrying out the order is easier said than done for a fragile Lebanese state now facing one of its most precarious moments since the 1975-90 civil war.

On Friday, Aoun told United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that he had not received a response to his offer, according to a statement from the presidency.