Israel-Lebanon talks postponed to October

The next round of US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon has been postponed until October, a senior US State Department official has confirmed, delaying a planned multilateral meeting in Rome by about a month.

The talks were originally scheduled for next week in the Italian capital but were pushed back due to scheduling difficulties, according to an Israeli official. Diplomatic efforts, however, will continue in the meantime.

The two countries’ ambassadors are expected to meet at the US State Department in Washington to discuss how to implement a proposed framework agreement covering Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Diplomatic analysts say the process has slowed amid Israel’s upcoming election and Hezbollah’s resistance to key provisions of the proposed agreement.

A senior Lebanese government official told The Times of Israel that what Beirut described as “indiscriminate” Israeli airstrikes and military operations in southern Lebanon were undermining its political and administrative efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

Israel, however, maintains that the Lebanese Armed Forces are not yet fully prepared to take responsibility for enforcing the arrangement in the south.