JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Israel and Lebanon have sent civilians to a military committee monitoring their ceasefire, officials from both countries said on Wednesday, in a move that is expected to expand the scope of negotiations between the long-time enemies for the first time.
The meeting was a step towards the United States’ demand that the two countries expand talks beyond monitoring the 2024 ceasefire, in line with US President Donald Trump’s agenda for peace agreements across the Middle East.
The movement takes place despite fears of a new conflict between Israel and the powerful Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Continues after advertising
Lebanon officially remains in a state of war with Israel and criminalizes contacts with Israeli citizens. Meetings between civil officials on the two sides have been extraordinarily rare throughout its troubled history.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said in recent months, however, that he is open to negotiations to seek a stronger truce and sent a civilian for the first time on Wednesday.
Israel said it would send a representative in a bid to establish a relationship and economic cooperation with Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in 2024, which ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Since then, they have exchanged accusations about violations.
Chaired by the US, the committee met this Wednesday for approximately three hours on the Blue Line, which serves as the border between Lebanon and Israel.
Since it was created to monitor the 2024 truce, the committee has only been attended by military officers from Israel, Lebanon, the US and France, as well as United Nations peacekeepers.
Continues after advertising
Aoun’s office said he appointed Simon Karam, a former ambassador to the US, to head the Lebanon delegation after the US told Beirut that Israel had also agreed to ‘include a non-military member’ in its delegation at the meetings.
A statement issued after the conclusion of the session said participants welcomed the additional envoys as an ‘important step’ in ensuring the committee is ‘anchored in lasting civil-military dialogue’.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, Maayan Lubell and Maya Gebeily)
