Israel, Lebanon Enter New Round of Talks as U.S. Pushes Beirut Toward Historic Peace Framework

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – Israel and Lebanon are set to resume negotiations Thursday in Washington, with Israeli officials describing the talks as a potential turning point in the long and violent struggle between the Jewish state and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror organization.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said the discussions have moved beyond the narrow question of Israeli military withdrawals and are now focused on a broader dual-track framework: pursuing a formal peace treaty with Lebanon while simultaneously confronting the security reality posed by Hezbollah’s arsenal.

“We’re going to move into, hopefully, setting the framework for two teams,” Leiter told i24NEWS. “One team that will deal with achieving peace, a peace treaty, full peace, as if Hezbollah doesn’t exist, and a security track, as if the peace talks don’t exist.”

The framework reflects Israel’s long-standing position that peace cannot be built on paper while Hezbollah remains an armed state-within-a-state on Israel’s northern border. Leiter said Israel has “no immediate plans of withdrawal” from positions in Lebanese territory, while stressing that Jerusalem has “no designs in Lebanese territory” and is focused solely on national security.

The talks come shortly before the expiration of a three-week ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump, whose administration is pressing Lebanon to take concrete steps toward normalization. According to sources familiar with the discussions, Washington has urged Beirut to repeal its 1955 law banning normalization with Israel — a move that would mark a major political shift in Lebanon’s posture toward the Jewish state.

“The Americans are telling the Lebanese: it is time for Beirut to offer something in return as well,” a source told The Jerusalem Post. “So far, Israel has maintained the ceasefire and has taken significant measures to improve the atmosphere, and without action from the Lebanese side, it will be difficult to continue the ceasefire.”

The third round of negotiations will be held at the State Department and will include military representatives for the first time. The Israeli delegation will be led by Leiter and include a National Security Council representative, IDF Head of Strategy Brig.-Gen. Amichai Levin, and Israel’s acting military attaché in Washington.

Lebanon’s delegation will be led by former Lebanese Ambassador to the United States Simon Karam, current Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, and Lebanon’s military attaché in Washington. The U.S. side will include Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s adviser Michael Needham, and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michael Issa.

An Israeli official said the talks are intended “to discuss a framework for an agreement in greater depth.”

Leiter acknowledged Lebanon’s fragile political reality but said Israel sees signs that the Lebanese public may be shifting against Hezbollah. He claimed support among Shiites for peace with Israel, once believed to be only in the single digits or low double digits, has risen sharply as frustration grows over Hezbollah’s grip on the country.

“We have to be patient, but be firm at the same time,” Leiter said. “The shared interest in freeing that country from Hezbollah is ultimately going to win the day.”

In a striking development ahead of the talks, Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry filed a complaint Wednesday with the United Nations Security Council accusing Iran of interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs and dragging the country into a war it did not choose. Beirut also disputed Iranian claims involving the transfer of Iranian diplomats to a Beirut hotel later targeted by Israel, saying some of the Iranian officials killed in the strike had not been formally registered as diplomats in Lebanon.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, has sharply criticized the prospect of direct negotiations with Israel. Hezbollah official Nawaf al-Moussawi called on Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to hold a national referendum on peace talks, claiming the president had been “cornered” by outside pressure.

The emerging diplomatic track places Lebanon at a historic crossroads. For decades, Hezbollah has turned the country into a forward operating base for Iran’s war against Israel, often at a devastating cost to the Lebanese people. Now, with Washington applying pressure, Israel refusing to compromise on security, and Beirut itself accusing Tehran of destabilizing interference, the region may be witnessing a defining test of whether Lebanon can reclaim its sovereignty from Iran’s terrorist proxy — Hezbollah.

For Israel, the message remains clear: peace is possible, but not at the price of ignoring a terror army entrenched on its border.

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