Report: Israel changes stance on Lebanon talks after US request
The file of negotiations with Lebanon has made some progress, with the U.S. administration asking Israel to positively respond to Lebanon's negotiations overture and to explore the Lebanese proposal for halting the war, LBCI's correspondent in Israel, Amal Shehadeh, said on Saturday.
Shehadeh added that it seems that even the appointment of former Israeli minister Ron Dermer to lead the negotiations with Lebanon came at the request of Washington. Dermer has close ties to both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States.
Moreover, the report said that Israel has backed down from the negative response it had given to the visiting U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon regarding the possibility of negotiations with Beirut.
"In a special session held Thursday night and continued on Friday, Israel seriously discussed how to move forward with the Lebanese proposal. It also decided to form a negotiations team led by Ron Dermer," the report added.
It also noted that Israel is trying not to put the spotlight on the issue of negotiations because it wants to keep the issue of military preparations and the threats against Lebanon at the forefront of public messaging.
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