Israeli and Lebanese officials met in Rome on Tuesday, August 4, for a new round of U.S.-brokered talks aimed at implementing a framework for an Israeli military withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the deployment of Lebanese state forces. The three-day session comes as Lebanon seeks another pilot zone in which Israeli troops would leave and the Lebanese army would assume control, according to the Associated Press.
A diplomat familiar with the negotiations told AP that Beirut proposed either Khiam or Bint Jbeil for the next pilot zone. The limited zones are intended to test whether the Lebanese army can secure returned territory, remove unauthorized weapons and extend state authority while the parties pursue broader arrangements. The talks are technical and do not themselves amount to a final peace agreement.
The current process follows a U.S.-mediated framework announced on June 26. Under that plan, Israel is to withdraw gradually from occupied parts of southern Lebanon while Lebanon works toward disarming Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group. Reuters reported in July that the sides had resumed direct contacts in Rome, an unusual channel between countries that have no diplomatic relations and remain formally at war.
The negotiations opened amid continuing destruction on the ground. Le Monde reported that Israeli forces carried out new explosive demolitions before the session, including in localities inside an occupied belt that the newspaper estimated at about 6 percent of southern Lebanon. Those operations, and the pace and location of withdrawals, remain central points of contention for Beirut and for residents hoping to return home.
The conflict since March has killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and displaced hundreds of thousands, according to Lebanese figures cited by AP. Hezbollah has rejected the framework after being excluded from the talks, creating a major obstacle because the plan links Israeli withdrawal to the removal of the group's weapons. Israel says security conditions must accompany any pullback, while Lebanon says sovereignty requires the end of Israeli occupation.
The Rome round is scheduled to continue through August 6. Its immediate measure of progress will be whether negotiators agree on the location, timetable and security rules for another pilot zone. Even a limited accord could allow more civilians to return and give the Lebanese army a larger role, but implementation will depend on events along the border and on whether the parties can bridge disputes over withdrawal and disarmament.
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