Lebanon-Israel talks in Washington remain strained: Tel Aviv maintains hard line as negotiations show little progress

Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian 

As tensions escalate along both sides of the border between Lebanon and Israel, sources familiar with the Washington negotiations said the talks remain unpromising.

Israel, they said, is maintaining its positions: It refuses to discuss any withdrawal from Lebanon, seeks to expand what it describes as the security zone it has occupied, and is demanding concrete decisions and measures from the Lebanese state regarding Hezbollah’s weapons.

At the same time, a proposal prepared by security agencies and set to be presented in Washington outlined an initial plan for addressing Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, the head of the Israeli delegation in Washington, Yechiel Leiter, reassured Israelis that there would be no deviation from Tel Aviv’s position: dismantling Hezbollah’s weapons first.

That position, however, has divided Israelis.

Leaders within the military establishment are reportedly convinced that disarming Hezbollah throughout Lebanon is not feasible.

Between negotiations and military expansion, Israeli officials and members of the current governing coalition are also said to be maintaining ambitions for settlement expansion into Lebanon.

Despite ongoing efforts to ensure the success of the Washington talks, the Lebanese front continues to witness escalating security tensions linked to developments involving Iran. The issue has kept Tel Aviv on high alert as officials await the outcome of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decisions following talks in China.

The key question now is whether Trump will choose to launch a strike on Iran by the end of this week or begin a path toward reaching an agreement with Tehran next week.