Lebanon-Israel talks in Naqoura mark diplomatic turning point—the details

Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

The presence of civilians, including former Lebanese Ambassador Simon Karam and Israel’s  National Security Council Senior Director for Foreign Policy Uri Resnick, represented a significant development both for the mechanism meetings and for the wider northern border issue between Lebanon and Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first to disclose Israel’s decision to send a representative to the meeting, calling it an initial attempt to establish what he described as a foundation for a relationship and an economic cooperation framework between the two countries.

The announcement sparked debate in Tel Aviv, with multiple security and military officials suggesting that Netanyahu acted under U.S. pressure and would use the move to advance his personal legal battles. Military sources, however, indicated that the meeting would not lead to any changes in the army’s plan to disarm Hezbollah or to strike Lebanon after the 31st of this month.

According to sources, the U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus pressed for the Naqoura meeting in Lebanon. Despite efforts by Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat to promote the notion that nothing would result from the mechanism meetings before Hezbollah’s defeat and disarmament, reports from Israel suggest that the United States, through Ortagus, is working to calm tensions and advance the diplomatic track aimed at disarming Hezbollah.

The sources also revealed that Ortagus requested a reduction of the Israeli presence in Lebanon ahead of the arrival of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, in Tel Aviv next week.

Observers described the move as an exceptional step, emerging at a delicate moment amid rising threats of major conflict and a parallel attempt at a new diplomatic breakthrough.