Lebanese president counts on "Rome Tour" and calls on Trump to press for implementation of framework agreement
All eyes are on the Italian capital Rome, where the sixth round of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel will kick off tomorrow (Tuesday) amid official Lebanese aspirations to make tangible progress that will ensure the implementation of the terms of the "framework agreement" signed in Washington at the end of last June, which stipulates a ceasefire and the start of a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Ahead of the upcoming round, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed hope that the Rome meetings would lead to practical steps on the ground that would allow for the immediate start of the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the deployment of the Lebanese army in strategic areas.
Aoun stressed that the state and the army are the only umbrella capable of protecting the Lebanese people away from partisan and sectarian divisions, calling on the Israeli leadership to realize that the war machine will not bring security, and that real stability will only be achieved through the negotiation track, citing the vision of the absent Imam Sayyid Musa al-Sadr in protecting the south and its sons, who are tired of paying the price of destructive conflicts.
Diplomatic Movement in Washington and Test of 'Test Zones'
The movement in Rome, in which Lebanon's ambassador to Washington Nada Mouawad is participating in the confrontation with Israeli Ambassador Yehiel Leiter, coincides with broader political arrangements, including an official visit by the Lebanese president to Washington, D.C., on July 21.
Aoun announced his intention to ask US President Donald Trump to exert real and direct pressure on the Israeli side to force it to abide by its commitments and confirm that it has no ambitions in Lebanese territory.
On the ground, the agreement is preparing to enter its first pilot phase, which includes planning the establishment of two "model zones" in the south from which the Israeli army would withdraw so that the Lebanese army would assume full security and military responsibility and end any other armed presence.
Despite Beirut's completion of all preparations and maps in coordination with the US military delegation, Israel has not yet presented clear timetables for the withdrawal amid conflicting signals, as its ambassador in Washington links the move to the Lebanese army's full takeover, while Hebrew reports quoted a senior security official who predicted that the implementation of the memorandum would begin in practice within three weeks.
Ongoing Israeli Escalation
These strenuous diplomatic efforts come at a time when Israeli artillery and drones continue to launch their daily raids, as the shelling targeted the area between the towns of Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Kafr Tabnit, in conjunction with the bombing and burning of houses in the southern neighborhoods of the town of Hadatha in the Marjayoun district.
The latest official statistics issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Health showed the enormity of the human cost of the war since it began on March 2, recording 4,322 deaths and 12,219 injuries.