Israeli and Lebanese delegations are set to meet in Washington on Tuesday for another round of talks focused on the disarmament of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and continued discussions on the prospect of normalization between the two countries.<\/p>\n
The talks will take place over the next three days along two parallel tracks. Israel\u2019s Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, who is leading the delegation, will focus on the political and diplomatic aspects of the negotiations. At the same time, separate meetings on military issues will be led by Brig.-Gen. Amichai Levin, head of the IDF\u2019s Planning Directorate\u2019s Strategic Division. The Lebanese delegation will be headed by Lebanon\u2019s<\/a> Ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamadeh Maawad, together with former Lebanese ambassador to Washington Simon Karam.<\/p>\n According to two sources familiar with the negotiations, a central focus of the talks will be a proposed pilot program, under which the Lebanese Armed Forces would begin deploying to selected areas in southern Lebanon and dismantling Hezbollah\u2019s military infrastructure there.<\/p>\n One of the key disputes concerns where the pilot program should begin. Lebanon wants the initial deployment to take place in areas currently under Israeli military control, with Israel withdrawing<\/a> from each area as the Lebanese Army moves in. Israeli officials, however, insist that the first phase should begin in an area of southern Lebanon where Israeli forces are not currently deployed. Israel\u2019s position is that it first wants to see the Lebanese Army demonstrate its ability to disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its infrastructure in a defined area before Israel fully withdraws from any territory and entrusts the mission to the Lebanese authorities.<\/p>\n The talks are taking place against the backdrop of Iran\u2019s renewed involvement in Lebanon, this time under US sponsorship, following the conclusion of the latest round of US-Iran talks<\/a> in Switzerland. At the end of those discussions, Iran and the United States agreed to establish a \u201cdeconfliction cell\u201d involving Lebanon to prevent further military operations in the country.<\/p>\n According to the joint statement, \u201cThe parties agreed on the creation of a de-confliction cell, between the parties, the Lebanese Republic and facilitated by the Mediators, to ensure adherence to the termination of military operations in Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n