Washington feels good about where talks between Lebanon and Israel are heading, a State Department official told Al Arabiya English on Monday.
– The latest round of talks between the two countries ended in Rome last week with what US officials described as constructive despite the first of the two-day discussions being cut short because of Lebanese frustration with continued Israeli bombings and Israeli accusations that the Lebanese side was leaking contents of the meeting.
– According to the State Department official, the sides discussed third-party verification of the Lebanese army’s clearance operations, “and had separate bilateral discussions with the Lebanese delegation on delivering timely support for reconstruction.”
– An Israeli official told CNN that there was no date for the next round of talks. However, the State Department official, who was speaking to Al Arabiya English on condition of anonymity, said that the delegations will reconvene in Rome in early September, “and conversations will continue in Beirut, Jerusalem, and Washington in the interim.”
– The official noted pilot zones in southern Lebanon and the framework reached earlier this year was being implemented. “We feel good about the trajectory… and the working groups have aligned their language, maps, and procedures.”
– The US-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism will continue its work on ensuring the pilot zones move ahead with the Lt. Gen. Joseph Clearfield, the US military official heading the mechanism, is expected in Beirut soon to discuss expanding pilot zones where the Lebanese Armed Forces would assume responsibility, the Lebanese president said over the weekend.
– Nevertheless, “we are not naive about the difficulties,” the State Department official added. “Hezbollah is trying to sabotage the process, and both Israel and Lebanon are democracies under domestic political stress.”
– Iran-backed Hezbollah has repeatedly criticized the direct talks and called on the Lebanese government to abandon the negotiations altogether. The group has said that the Lebanese government should get domestic buy-in despite Hezbollah not asking for permission to drag Lebanon into the war, twice with Israel.
– “But the fact that the teams sat together, communicated directly, and generated options is itself a structural change,” the State Department official said.