Leaked names of Lebanese Pentagon delegation for first military talks with Israel
The Army Command has finalized a list of the Lebanese military delegation scheduled to travel to the United States to meet with an Israeli military delegation on May 29, pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar reported Friday.
The meeting will be the first Lebanese-Israeli military meeting and will be held at the Pentagon. On June 2 and 3, the State Department would hold diplomatic negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent political agreement. It would be the fourth round of talks between Lebanese and Israeli envoys.
The Lebanese military delegation will focus exclusively on the technical mechanisms to implement the ceasefire and schedule Israel's withdrawal from occupied areas in south Lebanon.
According to al-Akhbar, the names proposed by the Army Command for the delegation include: Brigadier General George Rizkallah (Christian), Brigadier General Ziad Rizkallah (Christian), Brigadier General Omar Hlayhel (Sunni), Brigadier General-Engineer Wael Abbas (Shia), Colonel Mazen Al-Hajj (Druze), and Colonel Wadih Rafoul (Christian).
Brigadier General Oliver Hakimeh, the military attaché at the Lebanese Embassy in Washington, might also attend the meeting, the daily said.
The army command said Friday that media reports about a "sectarian distribution" of the military delegation are against the principles of the military institution.
"The members of the delegation remain committed to national constants, represent Lebanon as a nation and are committed to the Army’s doctrine," the army command's statement said.
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat also criticized what he called "a six-member Army committee" as "a heresy that we can do without". "We trust the military institution and the constants built on the foundation of the armistice agreement, adherence to international resolutions, and the Taif Accord," he posted on the X platform.
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