As Lebanon and Israel sit down for a second round of talks on Thursday, the Lebanese people are deeply divided over a delicate question: Is opening a dialogue with a longstanding enemy a necessary step to prevent more bloodshed or a betrayal of national values?<\/p>\n
Last week, the State Department hosted a round of ambassador-level talks<\/a> in Washington, which led to a cease-fire that suspended fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group. Hezbollah is Iran\u2019s most powerful proxy in the Middle East, and ending the conflict in Lebanon could help clear a hurdle in negotiations between the United States and Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cTalking with Israel is a very divisive step in Lebanon,\u201d said Camille El Khoury, 39, a general manager of an e-commerce company and a Christian who favors the talks.<\/p>\n These are the first direct talks in decades between Lebanon and Israel, and they come after two Israeli-Hezbollah wars in the past three years.<\/p>\n The latest conflict began in early March, when Hezbollah attacked Israel in solidarity with Iran as it came under a U.S.-Israeli assault. The war has since killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon<\/a>, while Israel has seized towns in southern Lebanon<\/a> and carried out widespread demolitions.<\/p>\n Israel says its actions are aimed at securing communities in northern Israel. Israeli authorities say 15 soldiers and two civilians had been killed by Hezbollah since early March.<\/p>\n The 10-day cease-fire in Lebanon took effect late last week and has largely held. But exchanges of fire this week along the border have put it under strain.<\/p>\n The killing on Wednesday of a Lebanese newspaper reporter<\/a>, Amal Khalil, and the wounding of a Lebanese photojournalist, Zeinab Faraj, also raised tensions before the new talks. Lebanese news media said they were killed by an Israeli airstrike. Israel said that the episode was under review and that it would provide more details later.<\/p>\n Under the truce terms, only Lebanon\u2019s national security forces are permitted to carry weapons in the southern region closest to Israel\u2019s border. The agreement also said that Israel maintained its right to self-defense, but would not carry out \u201coffensive military operations\u201d against Lebanese targets.<\/p>\n President Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday that Lebanon would push to extend the cease-fire and call for an end to Israeli demolitions in the talks.<\/p>\n Lebanon has three dominant groups \u2014 Shiite and Sunni Muslims and Christians. For many Shiites, who make up the bulk of Hezbollah\u2019s support base, the negotiations feel like a betrayal.<\/p>\n Some have expressed concern that the talks could lead to a normalization of diplomatic relations for the first time since Israel\u2019s founding in 1948.<\/p>\n Other communities are angry that Hezbollah has pulled them into another war with Israel at Iran\u2019s behest. They acknowledge that the government has little leverage in these talks and are worried about the outcome.<\/p>\n \u201cLebanon has been dragged into a confrontation that does not serve its direct national interests,\u201d Mosbah Alsaket, 29, an engineer and a Sunni Muslim from the northern city of Tripoli, said in a phone interview.<\/p>\n Mr. Alsaket said his expectations were low for talks, doubting that they would yield meaningful results. He said this was because the government does not have a monopoly on military power or decisions on war.<\/p>\n Hezbollah\u2019s coordination with Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps<\/a> further amplifies the group\u2019s influence on the ground and constrains the Lebanese government in negotiations, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cHezbollah has left us in a very bad position,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jean El Cheikh, an oncologist, said the government must press on several issues, particularly the question of land in southern Lebanon. He said the government should also seek backing from Arab and European allies to strengthen its position in talks.<\/p>\n More important, he added, it should engage with those across Lebanon\u2019s various sectarian and religious groups, especially moderate and centrist voices open to a way out of the crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cTrue peace first requires internal Lebanese reconciliation to end sectarian paralysis,\u201d he noted. Lebanon remains deeply scarred by a bitter 15-year civil war that ended in 1990.<\/p>\n Mr. El Cheikh, a Catholic, expressed skepticism about Israel\u2019s intentions, saying it targets journalists<\/a> and medical workers<\/a> and is demolishing entire towns \u2014 using tactics similar to those used in the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n