Lebanon enters direct civilian talks with Israel to 'defuse tension'

Israel and Lebanon on Wednesday held direct civilian talks at a meeting of the US-run ceasefire monitoring body that the Lebanese prime minister said was agreed to in the hope of "defusing tension".

Nawaf Salam told The National that Lebanon's civilian envoy was appointed to the monitoring mechanism in the hopes of calming a tense situation marked by near-daily Israeli bombings and threats of a broader military operation in Lebanon. He invited US and French inspectors to verify whether Hezbollah is rearming in the south of Lebanon, as Israel claims. Israel has also appointed a civilian to lead its delegation.

The officials appointed by Lebanon and Israel were "sitting at the same table" for talks at the UN peacekeeping headquarters, sources from both countries told The National. Morgan Ortagus, US special representative for Lebanon, was also present.

Military officers have previously represented the two countries at meetings on operational matters. But the civilian meeting hints at the possibility of wider talks on calming the tension behind last year's destructive war in Lebanon, with the US playing peacemaker in the region.

"Otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken this move," Mr Salam said. "Our objective and goal was that that this could help defuse the situation.”

Mr Salam said he was open to US and French inspections to assess whether Hezbollah is rebuilding its military strength. Israel says its regular air strikes are to prevent Hezbollah's re-entrenchment, but Mr Salam called the claims "hearsay".

He said the plan to disarm Hezbollah and deploy the army in the south could not make proper progress until Israel withdraws from five occupied points in Lebanese territory. He also played down the prospect of establishing full relations with Israel, saying such relations remain "far off" and contingent on Israel accepting a two-state peace settlement in Palestine.

Wednesday's meeting was held shortly after Lebanon and Israel announced the appointment of civilian representatives to lead their delegations after reports of US pressure on both sides.