External interventions: Hochstein participates in launching drilling operation in the South, Le Drian's visit awaited

Political "status quo" remains as French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian's return to Beirut is awaited. Side talks surround the presidential file and are supposed to be invited to him.

Meanwhile, attention continues to focus on the south, with escalating Israeli provocations.

This article is originally published in, translated from Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

In the first file, Al-Akhbar has learned that discussions are ongoing regarding the venue for the dialogue, which Le Drian is expected to invite Lebanese forces to engage in.

Although Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri informed the French that it is in everyone's interest to hold dialogue meetings in Parliament, some point to the "greater effectiveness" of a dialogue held at the Pine Residence, the center of the French Embassy in Beirut.

However, sources from Ain el-Tineh suggest that the sessions, if agreed upon for dialogue, will be held in Parliament, and the discussion revolves around the form of French follow-up, particularly the presence of a French representative without chairing the sessions.

The sources state that the dialogue is supposed to take place at the level of the heads of parliamentary blocs, which exempts many political leaders from this task, noting that Berri informed everyone that he would not attend in person and would delegate someone to head the delegation of the Liberation and Development Bloc.

Despite the majority of forces welcoming the dialogue, the Lebanese Forces party remains steadfast in its rejection, as confirmed by its leader, Samir Geagea, who advised the French not to insist on this idea and urged the Parliament Speaker and other forces to hold open sessions to elect a president.

Nevertheless, well-informed sources believe that the Lebanese Forces will not refrain from participating if the majority of the concerned forces approve the invitation to dialogue and with the support of the Maronite Patriarchate.

The dialogue agenda remains uncertain as everyone awaits a proposal presented by the French envoy, considering the results of his external contacts with the countries of the Quincy meeting concerning Lebanon, especially the Saudi side.

On the other hand, diplomatic sources stated that the issue of "Land Demarcation" is not currently a pressing topic, contrary to recent speculations. They clarified that the US Embassy in Beirut heard comments from officials about the issue but confirmed that the Lebanese government does not request US mediation to settle the matter of the land borders. They added that the Americans informed Lebanese officials that the US administration is preoccupied with other files and does not see the situation as an urgent threat requiring immediate action.

Furthermore, the Israeli government did not request any mediation to address the land borders with Lebanon.

Lebanese officials have informed the US and UN representatives that Lebanon does not consider negotiations necessary regarding border demarcation. They assert that the enemy must vacate all disputed points, and Lebanon wants to delineate international borders with Palestine according to the recognized points since 1923.

They stressed that discussions about the borders could not be conducted based on the Israeli equation, which considers Lebanon not concerned with the occupied Chebaa Farms, as Lebanon sees the farms as a crucial point in any discussion, and the dispute over its borders is with Syria, not with the enemy entity.

An official source stated that the talks currently held by US President's Advisor for Energy Affairs, Amos Hochstein, do not pertain to this matter. The source added that Hochstein visited Tel Aviv a few days ago as part of a critical mission related to US efforts to achieve normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. He was tasked with this mission alongside his work in the energy sector, and he is also involved in communications to arrange matters between the occupation entity and the Palestinian Authority.

Regarding Hochstein's upcoming visit to Lebanon, it is known that the initial timing is mid-August when drilling operations in the southern Lebanese economic zone are expected to commence.

A source in contact with the Americans stated that Hochstein will be in Lebanon concurrently with the arrival of the drillship provided by the French company TotalEnergies, which will begin its work in the second half of August, with the first phase of its work to be completed by the end of this year. He will be among the figures and delegations participating in the launch of the drilling operation. An official source did not rule out the possibility of discussing other matters on the sidelines of the visit.

In addition, the source noted that US Ambassador to Beirut Dorothy Shea previously informed Prime Minister Mikati that her country does not want any tension in southern Lebanon, and she conveyed a clear Israeli message that Tel Aviv does not wish for any escalation.

Shea stated that her government assumes that it is the role of the UNIFIL forces to coordinate with the Lebanese Army in addressing all tension points, referring to the tents that the enemy intends to remove from its location in occupied Lebanese territories. The source added that the Americans emphasized that they did not want any violent method of removing the tents, as they did not want an uncalculated confrontation with Israel.