Lebanon to send big delegation to Rome, Italian officer likely to head verification panel
The seventh round of Lebanese-Israeli talks, which will be held at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, will witness a Lebanese participation with an unprecedentedly large political and military delegation led by former ambassador Simon Karam, an informed Lebanese source said.
The delegation will include Lebanon's Ambassador to Washington, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and the Director of Operations at the Army Command, Brig. Gen. George Rizkallah, leading a team of five specialized officers. Also included will be the legal advisor to the Presidency, Dr. Antoine Sfeir, and Najib Masihi, an expert in maritime affairs, the source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
Masihi was part of the Lebanese team that reached the agreement to demarcate the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel through U.S. mediation under Michel Aoun’s tenure.
In this context, the source told the daily that Sfeir and Masihi were added to the current Lebanese delegation as a “precaution,” in case the Israeli delegation insists on raising legal and topographical issues, as had occurred in the previous round of negotiations. The source told Asharq al-Awsat that they might join the delegation immediately to be able to respond to any points raised by the Israeli delegation in this regard.
The source also indicated that the delegation will reiterate, at the start of the seventh round, the points agreed upon in previous sessions, specifically regarding the consolidation of the ceasefire. This includes a cessation of hostilities and an Israeli commitment, guaranteed by the United States, to refrain from bulldozing the towns it occupies within the "yellow line".
The source added that the negotiating delegation will present the U.S. delegation with evidence of Israel's transformation of southern Lebanon into a scorched earth, to explore its willingness to pressure Israel to halt its destructive project.
“This will allow the delegation to proceed accordingly, after consulting with President Aoun. Otherwise, what is the point of continuing negotiations under the threat of fire against Lebanon, especially since Lebanon has fulfilled all its obligations, particularly the requirement that weapons be exclusively held by the state?” the source wondered.
The source warned that “inaction would strengthen Hezbollah's position,” allowing it to claim that the framework agreement is being undermined in favor of reviving the Iranian-American Memorandum of Understanding, even though the latter is currently facing significant challenges after becoming hostage to the exchange of heated messages between the two signatories.”
The source pointed out that Washington's insistence on not linking the Lebanese track to Iran now requires providing Lebanon with exceptional support to counter Hezbollah's pretexts. Maintaining the "pilot zones" without expanding them is insufficient unless they include towns or cities occupied by Israel, the source said.
Regarding the formation of a military committee to verify the Lebanese Army's deployment in the "pilot zones," which so far include the towns of Froun, Srifa, Qalaway, Burj Qalaway, and Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh (formerly occupied by Israel), the source revealed that the general trend within the negotiations leans heavily towards appointing an Italian officer to head the committee to ensure that no Hezbollah militants enter these areas.
He said that assigning an Italian officer to head it is not only because an Italian general is currently leading the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, but also because there is American-Israeli objection to naming a French officer.
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