Lebanon and Israel set next round of US-brokered talks for Italy on Aug. 4

Lebanon and Israel are due to hold their next round of US-brokered talks in Italy on Aug. 4, a Lebanese official said on Wednesday, as the two sides begin carrying out an agreement that could see Israeli forces withdraw from parts of southern Lebanon and Lebanese troops move in. The talks are part of a broader diplomatic effort aimed at ending hostilities tied to the wider regional conflict involving Israel, Hezbollah and the United States-Iran confrontation. The two countries have had more than three months of direct, ambassador-level meetings, an unusual format for states that remain formally at war and have no normal diplomatic relations. According to the Lebanese summary provided in the feed, five meetings hosted by the United States produced a framework deal late last month. That outline includes the disarmament of Hezbollah, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon and the deployment of Lebanese army units into areas vacated by Israel. The next round in Rome is expected to focus on the technical details of that process. Those details matter because the agreement is being described as a phased plan rather than an immediate pullout. The talks have shifted to the Italian capital so negotiators can discuss the practical rules for the so-called pilot zones — areas where the staged withdrawals and army deployment would first be tested. The first Israeli withdrawal under that arrangement took place this week in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, a town in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces left the area and the Lebanese army began deploying there. Residents were asked to delay returning until the town had been checked for unexploded ordnance, underscoring how much physical danger can remain even after active fighting eases. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam visited Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh on Wednesday and planted a Lebanese flag in the damaged street, according to the feed summary. His visit appeared intended to signal state authority and support for the army’s return to the south, an issue that has become central to Beirut’s public messaging. Beirut has welcomed the Israeli pullback from areas in the south, but it is also making clear that it wants a complete withdrawal. That position is important because the current arrangement appears to be incremental, not final, and the government is trying to balance security concerns, domestic pressure and the limits of what can be enforced on the ground. The status of Hezbollah remains one of the most sensitive elements in the talks. The framework cited in the feed foresees the group’s disarmament, but no public detail was provided on how that would be carried out or how compliance would be verified. That uncertainty is likely to shape the negotiations in Italy, where the parties are expected to focus less on declarations and more on sequencing, boundaries and enforcement. For now, the clearest sign of movement is the rollout of the pilot zones and the transfer of control in places like Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh. But the broader picture is still incomplete. It is not yet clear how many zones are covered, what the timetable looks like for additional withdrawals, or how the talks will address the deeper political questions surrounding Hezbollah’s weapons and the long-running state of war between the two countries. Even so, the decision to meet again suggests the process is continuing rather than stalling. With the next round now set for Aug. 4 in Italy, the negotiations appear to be entering a more technical phase — one that could determine whether the initial framework turns into a durable arrangement or remains a fragile, localised truce.

Source: Dawn World - https://www.dawn.com/news/2017639/lebanon-israel-to-hold-next-round-of-talks-in-italy-on-aug-4