Khaberni - An American official said that the administration of President Donald Trump believes the assassination of Hezbollah's military leader, Haitham al-Tabtabai, has delayed a major Israeli operation in Lebanon, and that it has provided Israel with room for political maneuvering, according to Axios.
According to the site, the Trump administration sees that the resumption of war by Israel is not expected in the coming weeks.
Axios clarified that Washington's vision involves creating a Trump economic zone along the borders free of Hezbollah, noting that all parties "agree on the goal of disarming the party."
The American site reported from an informed source that yesterday's Wednesday meeting in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats focused on acquainting the two sides, and also raised the issue of economic cooperation, especially regarding reconstruction.
While the site conveyed from an American official the "hopes" of Washington that the meeting would ease tensions between Israel and Lebanon, it clarified that the parties agreed to meet again before the start of the year and to come up with economic proposals to build trust.
The Naqoura meeting was attended by American envoy Morgan Ortagus, former Lebanese ambassador Simon Karam, and Yuri Resnik, the senior director of foreign policy at the Israeli National Security Council.
Tensions
Yesterday's meeting witnessed technical military discussions to continue the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, amid tensions between the two sides over the nature of the meetings and their objectives.
On its part, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel affirmed the necessity of disarming Hezbollah and agreed on formulating ideas for possible economic cooperation.
The office alleged that a meeting known as the "Committee for the Supervision of Hostilities" was held in a positive atmosphere and witnessed the drafting of ideas for possible economic cooperation, and the parties agreed to continue the dialogue.
In contrast, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told Al Jazeera that Lebanon is not engaged in peace negotiations or normalization with Israel, confirming that Netanyahu went too far in describing the decision to include a civilian diplomat in the committee.
Under US-Israeli pressure, the Lebanese government in August decided to disarm Hezbollah, and the army laid out a five-stage plan to withdraw the arms, but the party rejected the plan and emphasized Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territories.
The "Committee for the Supervision of Hostilities" was established pursuant to the declaration of hostilities cessation between the countries on November 27, 2024. The committee includes Lebanon, France, Israel, the United States, and the United Nations force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL).
