Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces a quick start of direct peace negotiations with Lebanon. He thus responds to repeated calls from Beirut.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday that Israel will begin direct peace talks with Lebanon “as soon as possible”. According to his statement, he instructed the cabinet to start a dialogue in response to repeated calls from Beirut, reports TASR based on reports by The Times of Israel (TOI) and AP and AFP agencies.
“Given Lebanon’s repeated requests to start direct negotiations with Israel, yesterday (Wednesday) I instructed the government to start direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” the office of the Israeli prime minister said in a statement. According to her, the negotiations will focus on disarming the Hezbollah movement and establishing peaceful relations between the two countries.
Negotiations with Lebanon
Israel welcomed Thursday’s order by the Lebanese government, according to which the possession of weapons in Beirut is legal only in the hands of state institutions. The move followed a day after massive Israeli attacks in Lebanon killed and injured hundreds of people.
