Israel Vows to Reject Lebanon Ceasefire in Preliminary Talks
According to the publication, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regards the opening of negotiations as "a tactic to buy time without stopping the fighting, while showing goodwill toward the Americans and (US) President Donald Trump." Israeli sources cited by Haaretz voiced deep skepticism over the likelihood of any meaningful progress emerging from the planned discussions.
The talks, set to be hosted at US State Department headquarters in Washington on Tuesday evening, will bring together Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, Lebanese Ambassador Nada Muaawad, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US Ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa, according to a State Department statement issued Monday.
The diplomatic effort unfolds against a backdrop of escalating bloodshed. Since March 2, Israel has waged an expanded offensive across Lebanon that has left 2,089 people dead and 6,762 others wounded.
Haaretz reported that Leiter is entering the room with firm constraints from Tel Aviv: "Leiter will arrive at the talks under instructions not to agree to a ceasefire, which will make it extremely difficult to find common ground with the Lebanese side."
Beirut had hoped to extract a concrete ceasefire commitment from the talks, though those aspirations have drawn sharp criticism from Hezbollah. While the Lebanese government has moved forward with plans to disarm the militant group, Hezbollah has flatly refused to relinquish its arsenal, insisting it operates as a "resistance movement" against Israel.
The question of Hezbollah's disarmament remains a top Israeli priority, Haaretz noted, though it remains unclear whether Tel Aviv intends to condition any diplomatic advancement on the group's disarmament.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that a joint statement from both ambassadors is anticipated following the meeting, with no further sessions scheduled for the remainder of the week. The outlet also claimed Israel has agreed to scale back and recalibrate its strikes in Lebanon in accordance with the pace of negotiations.
Israel offered no official response to either report.
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