U.S. Announces Launch of Direct 'Military' Negotiations Between Israel and Lebanon
The United States announced that it will launch a security track for direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel at the US Department of Defense on May 29, with the participation of military delegations from both sides, with the political track to resume on June 2 and 3.
US State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott said on Friday evening that Washington had succeeded in reaching a 45-day extension of the cessation of hostilities agreement, following a two-day "very productive" round of talks hosted in the US capital, explaining that the extension was aimed at "allowing for further progress".
Bigott noted that the United States hopes that these discussions will contribute to the establishment of lasting peace between the two countries, promote mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stabilize security along the shared border.
As of 08:00 Damascus time, there was no comment from the Lebanese or Israeli side on Washington's announcement.
Salam: We are facing "the most serious crisis since the establishment of the state"
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has called for Arab and international support to support Lebanon in its "difficult" negotiations with Israel, warning that the country is going through an unprecedented phase of political and security risk.
In an official speech, Salam said that Lebanon was "pushed into a war that it did not choose," noting that military operations led to Israel's occupation of 68 towns, villages and sites, after the diplomatic track was focused on getting them out of just five points. Lebanon's "futile adventures" in the service of "foreign projects" have brought the country to this point, he said.
Salam stressed that getting out of the crisis requires "facing the full truth" and strengthening internal cohesion, stressing the need to fortify state institutions and stop treating them as "booty". He also announced that he would go to international forums to request a UN mission to collect evidence about Israeli crimes.
The prime minister stressed that any real rescue of Lebanon "can only be achieved by returning to the logic of the state", stressing that the state is only carrying out "one national decision" issued by its constitutional institutions, "one weapon is the weapon of the Lebanese army", and "one law that no one is superior to".
Hezbollah accuses Lebanese Authority of making gratuitous concessions to Israel
The parliamentary bloc "Hezbollah" accused the Lebanese government of "continuing its downward swing in the face of the arrogance of the Israeli enemy and forcing it, and its expansion of the approach of aggression and destruction supported by American cover and support, while it finds nothing but betting on weak diplomacy as a way to regain rights, expel the occupation and preserve sovereignty," it said.
A statement issued by the party's "Loyalty to the Resistance" bloc on Wednesday (May 13th) said that the direct negotiations conducted by the PA team with the "Zionist" entity are accompanied by the enemy's continuation of its crimes and the attempt to expand its occupation of our land in the south.
She added that this "reaffirms the occupation's exploitation of the negotiation sessions and employing them for the benefit of its occupation, while the PA offers concessions after concessions without even obtaining a ceasefire," considering that "this contributes to increasing the intensity of internal divisions and rifts in society and in the state institutions itself."
The bloc accused Israel of "escalating war crimes" in southern Lebanon, explaining that what its army is committing "will not dissuade the Lebanese people from adhering to their legitimate rights to defend themselves and their land."
It reiterated its call on the Lebanese Authority to "exit this political track" and return to "strengthening internal unity and national understandings."