Following his meeting with Lebanese Ambassador Nada Moawad in Washington yesterday, under the auspices of the US Secretary of State, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yehiel Leiter declared these "historic days," asserting that "we represent the future, while Hezbollah is a thing of the past." He expressed his hope to travel to Beirut in business suits or even swimwear. However, official and unofficial circles in Israel are treating Leiter's arrogant statements and the "historic event" with caution and suspicion. Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, echoed this sentiment, stating, "We do not underestimate the importance of a public and direct meeting in one room between Israeli and Lebanese officials. This is an important message, but the test will be in actions, not words."
Speaking to Israeli public radio on Wednesday morning, Danon said that the test lies in actions, not words. When asked about the ceasefire in Beirut, he said, “We choose the fronts we define, and we have reduced the shelling on some of them.” But Hezbollah is present in Beirut, and its bases are in the southern suburbs. Regarding this question, Danon continued, “Hezbollah is part of Lebanon, and there are elements within the Lebanese army and government who are affiliated with Hezbollah. This is a very complex situation, but the Beirut government must decide whether it is independent or a state under Iranian patronage. We and the United States have given an opportunity, a grace period that may ultimately lead to genuine independence.”
Dannon said that the test is in actions, not words. When asked about the ceasefire in Beirut, he said, “We choose the fronts that we define, and we have reduced the shelling in some of them.”
Regarding the prospects for peace with Lebanon, Danon (an extremist member of the Likud party) claimed that “we have no interest in conflict and hostility with the Lebanese people, on the contrary, but the question now is: Will the Lebanese government implement its decisions and exercise its sovereignty? Experience teaches us and calls on us to believe what we see on the ground, not what we hear in closed rooms.”
In response to a question about France's missing role in these negotiations , Danon said that France has been playing a negative role in recent months, hindering the process with its relations with Iran and its support for a Palestinian state. He added that while France has a long-standing relationship with Lebanon, the United States is effectively the sponsor, and any other party should be prevented from interfering in the negotiations with Lebanon.
The war with Hezbollah and negotiations with the Beirut government
In response to the above question, former National Security Advisor, Reserve General Dr. Eli Holata, told the same radio station that this is an important point that illustrates the complex reality with Lebanon and reflects Israel's dilemma: Are we at war with Hezbollah or with Lebanon? What we have seen in recent years is that the Lebanese government has been saying things it never said before, following the fall of Syria and the weakening of Iran. He added that the question now is: Can we achieve a peace agreement with Lebanon? Can we dismantle Hezbollah? I don't know what Netanyahu's government's goal is—is it to dismantle Hezbollah or to make peace with Lebanon?
The gap is clear between the Lebanese and Israeli positions, which Washington merged into a single statement yesterday. He continued: “The Lebanese government cannot dismantle Hezbollah. I don’t want to dismiss these statements, but I feel there is a manipulation of words and an attempt to engineer Israeli public opinion through lofty pronouncements. While we talk about peace with Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of Israelis in the north are sitting in shelters. We must ask ourselves: Do we realize that peace with Lebanon is a very long process? Are we using other diplomatic tools to contain Hezbollah? America expects a ceasefire in Lebanon, especially on the eve of the resumption of negotiations in Islamabad. I fear that the confusion surrounding these overly optimistic statements is intended to cover up the dilemma and the current stalemate.”
Holata: I find it difficult to foresee an agreement in the short term in which Tehran would relinquish its enriched uranium. I doubt that this will happen in negotiations within days. What we are hearing so far is about Hormuz and the nuclear issue, and it seems that the missile threat is not on the table in the negotiations.
However,Holata concluded, “Now, with Hassan Nasrallah gone and Hezbollah withdrawing from the south, and with the moderate Aoun in Lebanon and Iran weakened , we have an opportunity to push Hezbollah back.” When asked about Iran, Holata said, “Iran’s situation is more difficult than it appears. After Trump’s sanctions, Tehran hasn’t initiated any confrontation; instead, they’re talking about returning to negotiations. I expect a limited agreement that includes opening the Strait of Hormuz, along with a ceasefire encompassing the Gulf states, Israel, and the Lebanese front. I find it difficult to foresee an agreement in the near future in which Tehran relinquishes its enriched uranium. I doubt that this will happen in negotiations within days. What we’re hearing so far is about Hormuz and the nuclear issue, and it seems the missile threat isn’t on the table in the negotiations.”
For his part, radio political commentator Spiman Masouda said in this regard that the meeting in Washington yesterday constituted the beginning of negotiations that ended with a joint statement, and this is an important and unprecedented event, but the gap between the two sides is large. The Lebanese want a ceasefire, and Israel wants to dismantle Hezbollah’s weapons, and it continues to this day to launch dozens of rockets at the Galilee, but we are still far from weakening it.
The draft stated that Israel had been rejecting calls from the Beirut government to negotiate until the last week, noting that the change came at the request of the United States after Iran demanded that Lebanon be included in the ceasefire, so the negotiations came mainly as a kind of search for a way out for Netanyahu.
Cartoon satire
This general mood of skepticism in Israel regarding the high-level pronouncements about a possible peace with Lebanon is complemented by today's headline in Yediot Ahronot, which is not without its irony: "History in Washington and Fire in the North." The irony is clearly evident in a cartoon published in the newspaper today, depicting Muawad and Leiter at opposite ends of a negotiating table, adorned with Lebanese and Israeli flags, and Hezbollah as an elephant perched in the center of the table with its yellow flag and a machine gun.
