TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israel and Lebanon are set to hold their fifth round of talks in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, as a fragile ceasefire between the two sides appears to be holding despite unresolved tensions, according to DW.
The talks, mediated by the United States, are aimed at securing a longer-term arrangement between Israel and Lebanon after months of fighting linked to the wider Middle East conflict.
Lebanon was pulled deeper into the regional crisis in early March when Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, launched attacks on Israel in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Israel responded with airstrikes across Lebanon and later sent ground forces into the south, where Israeli troops remain deployed.
Lebanese officials have sought the US-mediated negotiations as a path toward restoring stability. President Joseph Aoun and other Lebanese leaders have maintained that Iran does not represent Lebanon in diplomatic discussions and that Beirut must negotiate on its own behalf.
The talks are also taking place as a temporary US-Iran peace agreement calls for an end to hostilities across the region, including in Lebanon. The issue has been a key demand from Tehran during negotiations.
Fighting in Lebanon has eased since Saturday night, marking a significant development after previous rounds of Israel-Lebanon talks failed to produce a lasting reduction in violence.
However, Israel is not a party to the US-Iran agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel’s military would maintain its "freedom of action" against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
"Iran wanted us to withdraw from it but I stood firm," Netanyahu said, as quoted by DW,
"We are keeping our freedom of action and we are keeping the security zone to protect" residents in northern Israel.
Lebanon has continued to push for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from its territory as a key objective of the negotiations.
Read: JD Vance Warns Israel as Trump Pushes Forward Iran Deal
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