Historic political summit: Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamdi will meet in Washington this evening (Tuesday) for the first official discussion on a peace agreement between the countries.
The meeting, which is being held under the auspices and in the presence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is intended to establish basic principles for future negotiations.
A source in the Lebanese presidency said that participating in the talks is an attempt to "save what is left and stop the bloodbath." The same source sharply attacked the terrorist organization Hezbollah: "If it weren't for Hezbollah's war adventure, we wouldn't need these negotiations. Lebanon came to correct a mistake made by others.".
The gaps between the sides ahead of the summit are significant: While Lebanon insists on declaring a ceasefire, at least temporarily, as a condition for progress in the talks, Israel wants to conduct the negotiations in parallel with military pressure on Hezbollah.
Last night, Kan News reported that Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter underwent an unusual security briefing ahead of the meeting, given by senior officers from the IDF Strategic Division. The briefing, which was approved by Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, was intended to equip the ambassador with the latest operational data in preparation for the political talks.
Leiter said in an interview on Sunday, after holding an initial and significant phone call in which he participated, with the Lebanese ambassador to the US and the US ambassador to Beirut: "We all agreed that if we put Hezbollah aside, and Israel and Lebanon simply negotiate for peace, within two or three months we will have a full peace agreement. Lebanon and Israel can live in peace tomorrow.".
