His and his ambassadors to the US are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.
This will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel will meet face-to-face in direct talks. Lebanese authorities insist a ceasefire is the priority, but Israel has said it wants to start formal peace talks with Lebanon.
Netanyahu has made the disarmament of Hezbollah a priority, making no mention of a ceasefire or withdrawal of his forces from southern Lebanon.
Threats from Hezbollah
At the same time, Hezbollah insists that it will not abide by any agreement that may result from the direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in the US. Wafik Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah’s political council, was clear in his statements.
“As for the results of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, they do not interest us or concern us at all,” Safa told The Associated Press.
In addition, the leader of Hezbollah, Naim Kassem described the negotiations as “futile”. In a televised address, he called on the government to take “a historic and heroic stance” and not participate in the planned talks.
Mertz’s message to Netanyahu
For his part, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order an end to the fighting in southern Lebanon and begin direct peace negotiations with the Lebanese government.
During his telephone conversation with Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Merz also expressed his “deep concern” about the development of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and underlined that “there should not be any de facto annexation of parts of the West Bank”, according to the German government spokesman.
Friedrich Merz also emphasized to his Israeli counterpart that “Germany is willing to contribute to guaranteeing the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”, but only after “the end of hostilities” and “under the condition that the necessary conditions are met”, according to the information of the chancellor’s representative.
